Notes
This is a fragment of a stoneware tableware produced in the Westerwald region of Germany. German stonewares played an important part of the English and colonial ceramic market of the eighteenth century. These vessels were available in a variety of forms but most commonly as jugs, mugs and chamberpots, and were most often decorated with a combination of incised and molded decorations enhanced with the use of cobalt and manganese underglaze painting. Generally, the prevalence of these kinds of stonewares diminished throughout the eighteenth century.
This sherd is a fragment of what is clearly a hollow vessel, yet appears to be relatively straight sided, as opposed to bulbous, through the vessel body. Together these points suggest it maybe a fragment from a tankard or mug, rather than a chamberpot or jug.
Object Type
CeramicHas it Been Conserved?
No
Where Was It Found?
Project Site: House for Families [more details]
Material
Vessel
Manufacturing Technology
Form
Completeness
Decorative Technology
Decorative Notes
Sprig molded, incised, painted blue.
Date
1710-1775
Country of Origin
Dimensions
40mm x 0mm x 50mm (W x H x L)
Illustration shows object in comparison to the size of a quarter
Weight
7.2 gram(s)
Object Number
1725091. WRSW V.3
DAACS Number
1725091
Project: House for Families
The structure identified as the “House for Families” on the 1787 Vaughan plan likely housed the majority of the enslaved population living at the Mansion House Farm for much of the second half of the eighteenth century. The building was in existence from circa 1760 until it was demolished in late 1792 or early 1793. The archaeological evidence for the structure consisted of a brick-lined storage cellar (44FX762/40-47) measuring roughly six feet by six feet. Historically the cellar served as a handy trash receptacle once it ceased to be used for its original storage function, and through extensive excavation has yielded an extremely rich assemblage of household refuse. The analysis of these remains offers the opportunity to study important aspects of the daily lives of Mount Vernon's enslaved community.
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