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The Jamestown Ceramics Research Group was formed to identify and define all the ceramic ware types that appear on pre-1650 Jamestown and vicinity sites. Pottery comprises an important component of archaeological sites for, of all the classes of artifacts, it yields the richest record of date, social status, household routine, and trade. Valid comparisons of the ceramic information, however, require a standard nomenclature for both ware and form. The Jamestown Ceramics Research Group proposes to do this by maintaining an online study collection of these wares. This is just the beginning at an attempt to standardize the nomenclature of ceramic types found on pre-1650 sites in Virginia and to identify where those wares are being found. Eventually, this work could be extended to the latter half of the 17th century, and perhaps even the 18th century, and encompass much more of the Chesapeake region. It is anticipated that Native American ceramics could also be incorporated into this format.
Ceramics Research Group Bibliography
Delftware
Delftware is a generic name for tin-glazed earthenware that was made by Italian immigrants in Antwerp, Belgium as early as 1512, but it wasn’t until after 1540 that delftware manufacture there became a well-established industry. Click here to learn more.
Kraack porcelain
Kraack porcelain was made predominantly between the mid 16th and the mid 17th centuries. This ware was China’s first porcelain mass-produced for export to Europe. Click here to learn more.
Zhangzhou Porcelain
Once commonly known as Swatow, this coarse export porcelain currently goes by the preferred name, Zhangzhou, for the location of kilns that produced the ware. Much of this ware was exported along the Southeast Asian trade routes by the Portuguese, then by the Dutch after 1602. Click here to learn more.
Border ware
Border ware was produced along the borders of west Surrey and northeast Hampshire counties from the mid-16th until the late-17th centuries. Large quantities and many varieties of these utilitarian vessel forms are found in James Fort features. Click here to learn more.
Essex Post-Medieval Fine Redware
The potters in Essex, just north-east of London, supplied London markets in the 16th and 17th centuries with a variety of wheel thrown ceramic objects for household use. Known as Essex post-medieval fine redware (EPMFR), this ware is well represented in the James Fort assemblage. Click here to learn more.
Beauvais
Rare on Virginia sites, Beauvais stoneware has been found in the Chesapeake region at James Fort and at Jordan’s Journey sites in Prince George County. Most forms of this light gray stoneware found in Virginia are small, cylindrical jars, however a jug and a beaker were recovered from James Fort. Click here to learn more.
Frechen Stoneware
Vitrified stoneware was produced in Frechen, just southwest of Cologne in the Rhine River valley from the early 1500s. Most of the examples from James Fort are bottles in a form known as Bartmann, German for “bearded man.” Click here to learn more.
Italian Costrel
Starred costrels are an early time marker for Virginia sites. Previously thought to have been made on the Iberian Peninsula, analysis of the clay fabric of examples found at James Fort indicates that these were almost certainly made in Italy, probably Liguria. Click here to learn more.
Hispano-Moresque Lusterware
Known as Hispano-Moresque lusterware, this ceramic type combines the techniques of tin-glazing and metallic luster decoration that were brought to southern Spain by the conquering Moors in 711. In the West, the ware is generally found in Spanish Caribbean colonies. Click here to learn more.
Spanish Olive Jar
Seville-type olive jars appear in the Americas by 1554, and with only subtle changes in form, continue into the 18th century, with some variations being made as late as 1839. They are common on 17th-century Virginia sites and Virginia Company records contain a likely reference to them. Click here to learn more.
Iznik
Iznik was the main production center for high quality tin-glazed earthenware pottery made in present day western Turkey from the late 15th century until the beginning of the 18th century. Only a few sherds have been recovered at Jamestown. Click here to learn more.
