Ceramics: Consumerism and Ingenuity

Ceramics Overview

In analyzing ceramics we look at two main components: the clay body and the exterior treatments. The clay body refers to its composition; the three most common types are earthenware (coarse and refined), stoneware, and porcelain. These three vary based on texture, particle size, and color. The exterior treatment includes any glazes, surface treatments, moldings and decoration on the ceramic vessel and varies based on culture, time period, economic status, and a series of other factors.

A variety of ceramics have been found within enslaved contexts at Fairfield Plantation. Colonoware and traditional European ceramics have been excavated from the slave quarters telling a unique story of adaptability and resilience. There is no definitive story as to how the enslaved individuals would have gained possession of these ceramics but there is a multitude of possible theories. We know that slaves were not excluded entirely from the economies of the colonies, lending us insight into the part they played in the acquisition of these ceramics. As a result of their roles as consumers, users and sometimes producers of ceramics, we believe enslaved individuals could have purchased, made, been gifted, or repurposed these ceramics. While we do not know exactly how these ceramics came into the possession of enslaved individuals, they serve as effective tools for dating the site and its periods of occupation.

*The following represents a small sample of the ceramics found at Fairfield Plantation within the context of enslavement*

The ceramic identifications and information have largely been sourced from Jefferson Patterson Park & Museum's ceramic database

Delftware Polychrome Fragments - Body

Context: 44GL24 TU373

Date Range: c. 1650-1800

These delftware or tin-glazed fragments are decorated with a polychrome design with warm tones ranging from olive, brown, deep yellow, and blue. The term polychrome is used when multiple colors are painted onto the vessel. Though the full designs are not clear on these sherds, they appear to be floral motifs, which are fairly common. Decorative sherds like this are likely part of tablewares or teawares.

Feather Edge Creamware - Body

Context: 44GL24 TU304

Date Range: 1765-1820

This fragment of cream-colored ceramic is a part of a plate or other flatware. The design was press-molded onto the surface with cut block forms giving the vessel its distinctive feather motif. This decorative style was popular amongst upper and middle-class families, including individuals such as George Washington who had a 250-piece set of feather edge creamware.

Chinese Handpainted Blue Porcelain - Rim

Context: 44GL24 TU238A

Date Range: 18th century

Chinese porcelain was an expensive and highly-prized ceramic in the 18th century. Some decorative patterns were used over long periods so they can be difficult to date. This fragment of a plate would have been used for dining in the main house, but may have been later used by enslaved people.

Pearlware Edge - Rim

Context: 44GL24 TU264

Date Range: c. 1780-1840s

This example of the popular shell edge design, which began in the late 18th century, has a less distinctive molded edge and likely dates closer to the end of the date range. Blue was by far the most common color for shell edge, followed by green, with reds and pinks being seen only rarely.

Blue Banded Annularware - Rim

Context: 44GL24 TU562

Date Range: 1790s - 1840s

Annularware designs were made with creamware, pearlware, whiteware and yellowware, underscoring their popularity. This brightly colored ceramic type was an inexpensive decorative ware. When these banded decorations began, they were typically bright tones. Eventually, the popularity of those colors gave way to muted tones such as grey, blue, and black during the mid-19th century. This example is indicative of the later annularwares, and may include other colors on the rest of the vessel.

Black Basalt - Rim

Context: 44GL24 TU412

Date Range: 1750-1820

The distinctive dark grey/black color of Black Basalt stoneware is achieved through the use of an oxidizing atmosphere during the firing process. It was originally created by Josiah Wedgewood in the mid-18th century and remained popular until the early 19th century, especially in its use during times of mourning. It was also popular for teawares, of which this may be an example.

Redware - Rim

Context: 44GL24 TU150A

Date Range: 1730-1840

Redware is one of the most common ceramic types in colonial and 19th-century contexts. It is a course earthenware that is usually glazed, often just on the interior side. Much of the redware found at Fairfield was made in England, but there were also varieties made throughout the colonies beginning in the 17th century. Most redware vessels were made for food preparation and storage.

Chinese Handpainted Blue Porcelain - Body

Context: 44GL24 F087A1NW

Date Range: 18th century

This fragment of a Chinese porcelain plate has a handpainted motif of two deer, near the center of the plate. In Chinese mythology, deer can symbolize longevity, prosperity and abundance, among other things. These meanings were likely not understood by American colonial consumers, who valued porcelain primarily for the high status it reflected. We cannot know what this plate may have meant to enslaved Africans at Fairfield, but it was found in a sub-floor pit beneath a slave quarter building. This, and other sherds found nearby suggests that at least one plate was used by some of these individuals in their own space.

Transfer Print Flow Blue - Body

Context: 44GL24 TU302

Date Range: 1840-1900

The distinctive Flow Blue transfer printed whiteware designs result from the design printing process. The bleeding of the dark blue onto undecorated portions of the vessel creates a blurry effect around the designs. This stands in stark contrast to the precise handpainted Chinese Porcelain that was popular in the 18th century into the 19th century.

Westerwald - Body

Context: 44GL24 TU373

Date Range: 1650-1775

Westerwald is a grey bodied salt-glazed stoneware produced in Germany and exported via Dutch merchants to the British Isles and around the world. It typically has sprig-molded and incised designs, including floral, checkered and geometric motifs, highlighted with cobalt blue painting. Popular vessel types included drinking mugs, serving jugs, and chamber pots. This sherd, likely from a jug, also has purple manganese decoration, which is more common in the late 17th to early 18th century.

E. Challinor & Co. "Amula" Pattern Transfer print whiteware - Rim

Context: 44GL24 TU281

Date Range: 1843-1862

This ceramic was produced by the Fenton Potteries of Fenton, England, which is within the larger ceramic producing region of Staffordshire. The transfer print seen here allows for the specific identification and date range of this sherd. This pattern was used during the management of E. Challinor & Co., associated with Edward Challinor (1792-1879) during the mid-19th century. This plate may have been part of a set that was used by some of the later residents of Fairfield.

Debased Scratch Blue - Body

Context: 44GL24 TU13

Date Range: 1765-1790

Scratch Blue is a variety of English White salt-glazed stoneware that typically has simple incised designs with blue painted decoration. This fragment features incised detailing with decoration falling outside of the incised sections making it Debased Scratch Blue. Incised detailing is typically done when the clay is leather hard, before firing.

Polychrome Pearlware Rim

Context: 44GL24 TU200A

Date Range: 1815-1830

Comparing this polychrome design to the earlier warm-toned polychrome, this design features a cool-toned color palette with primarily cobalt coloring. The hand-painted motifs would often feature floral designs on a white background.

Colonoware Overview

In the context of enslavement, the most poignant ceramic type is Colonoware, which is a locally-made, low-fired, unglazed coarse earthenware that can be directly associated with to enslaved populations. This ceramic type can be found primarily in Virginia, South Carolina, and the Caribbean as well as parts of North Carolina and Georgia. Colonoware is a result of the intermingling of ceramic traditions and influences from African, Native American and European populations that arose during the 17th century.

While much has been researched and written about Colonoware, we still have a lot to learn, particularly in terms of the variation in tempers and vessel forms, how many people and locations were involved in making these ceramics, and how it was distributed. The users of Colonoware in the Chesapeake region appear to have been primarily enslaved Africans, so its presence can yield distinct insights into their daily lives at Fairfield and beyond. Several of the sherds pictured below are from Features 8, 87 and 88, all of which are subfloor pits found beneath small domestic structures that housed enslaved families and individuals at Fairfield. Most of the fill within these pits dates to when they went out of use, but it is very likely that the material used to fill them was comprised of trash gathered from the immediate area, so these items speak to the many roles and activities of enslaved persons on the plantation, and aspects of their daily lives. such as diet and dress.

*This is just a sample of the Colonoware found at Fairfield Plantation within the context of enslavement*

The Colonoware overview has been largely informed by the Digital Archaeological Archive of Comparative Slavery

Example of Complete Colonoware Vessel from Mount Vernon

Photo Credit: Karen E. Price.

Colonoware - Body

Context: 44GL24 TU16

Date Range: 18th century

The distinctive white flecking visible in this sherd is from small bits of shell which were crushed and included as a tempering agent within the clay used to make this vessel.