Muscovy Glass Panes

This fragile and fragmentary artifact, one of three in Rediscovery’s archaeological collection, tells an intriguing story of international trade, innovation, and exploration. A pane of “glass” known as Muscovy glass, it was fashioned from the mineral muscovite, more commonly known as mica. Cut into a triangular-shape, it was held in place, likely in a ship’s lantern, by tinned iron strips that also protected it from weathering.

Sheets of mica were mined in Russia in the seventeenth century. Mica was especially sought after for use in ship lanterns or windows because unlike glass, the mineral was heat resistant and relatively stable when exposed to the open seas. Muscovy was the name for Russia until the founding of the Russian Empire in 1721.

Both the Dutch and the English traded with Russia during the early years of Jamestown’s establishment. The English established the Muscovy Company in the 1500s and the Dutch initiated trade around the same time. Although English-made goods comprise much of the material culture found at Jamestown, Dutch objects make up a large part of the collection. Many of the early colonists had previously served as soldiers in the Netherlands or had other connections to the Dutch. Although the Muscovy glass found at Jamestown was mined in Russia, it made its way to Jamestown via the English or Dutch.

The Muscovy glass panes recovered at Jamestown were most likely from a ship’s lantern that broke at sea and thrown away upon arrival. Otherwise, a lantern from a ship was used in the Fort, where it broke and was discarded in the colony’s second well after the well was no longer potable.