Delftware Chronology: a New Approach to Dating English Tin-Glazed Ceramics" (1989)
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W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 1989 Delftware Chronology: A New Approach to Dating English Tin- Glazed Ceramics Ellen Shlasko College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the Art and Design Commons, and the Social and Cultural Anthropology Commons Recommended Citation Shlasko, Ellen, "Delftware Chronology: A New Approach to Dating English Tin-Glazed Ceramics" (1989). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539625501. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-tmdb-d088 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. DELFTWARE CHRONOLOGY: A NEW APPROACH TO DATING ENGLISH TIN-GLAZED CERAMICS A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Anthropology The College of William and Mary in Virginia In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts by Ellen Shlasko 1989 APPROVAL SHEET This thesis is submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Ellen Shlasko Approved, April 1989 Dr. Rita Wright u George Miller The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Dt. Ma r1ey?R. Brown, III TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS....................... iv LIST OF TABLES ...................................... V LIST OF F I G U R E S .................................... vi ABSTRACT ...... X CHAPTER I - INTRODUCTION............................ 2 CHAPTER II - METHODOLOGY AND SA M P L E ............... 16 CHAPTER III - THE RESULTS OF THE AN A L Y S I S .......... 38 CHAPTER IV - TESTING THE D A T E S ..................... 96 CHAPTER V - CONCLUSION....................... .. 12 6 BIBLIOLOGRAPHY ...................................... 135 iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There are many people who have contributed to this work. My thanks to Henry Miller, Susan Hanna and the rest of the staff at Historic St. Mary's City for their generosity, help and hospitality. Thanks must also go to John Austin, Leslie Grigsby , Margie Gill and the Collections Department of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation for being so generous with the resources of the wonderful delftware collection. I thank my father, Bob Shlasko, for his help in editing the manuscript . My gratitude to Edward Shlasko, Dave Muraca and Greg Brown for getting the computer to cooperate with graphics. My deepest appreciation must go to the committee that guided me through the process of producing this work: Marley Brown, for his critical reading; Rita Wright, whose criticism and energetic support were an important factor in shaping the final product; and, most especially, George Miller, who was the catalyst, the inspiration behind the analysis, and who gave freely of his time, his possessions, his friendship and his ideas in a way that I will always remember and be grateful for. LIST OF TABLES Table Page I. Date Ranges and Median D a t e s ............... 3 9 II. Mean Dates and Standard Deviations......... 4 0 III. Ceramics from the John Hick's S i t e ......... 119 IV. Comparing Mean and Median D a t e s ........... 131 v LIST OF FIGURES Cornerstone form ........................... 20 Punch bowl with Oriental landscape ........ 22 Varying shapes of popularity curves . 25 Seriation of forms used ................... 28 Posset pot decorated with "Bird on Rock" . 42 "Bird on Rock" popularity curve .......... 44 Plate decorated with seated figure ........ 43 Seated figure popularity curve ............. 45 Bowl decorated with Oriental landscape . 46 Oriental landscape popularity curve . 48 Plate decorated with Chinese floral . 49 Chinese floral popularity curve .......... 50 Plate decorated with royal portraits . 51 Royal portraits popularity curve .......... 52 Royal portraits by monarch ................. 54 Plate decorated with merchant ship ........ 56 Maritime popularity curve ................. 57 Merryman plates ........................... 58 Wreath inscriptions popularity curve . 59 Plate decorated with coat of arms ........ 60 Armorial popularity curve ................. 61 vi Pie chart of bottle decoration . 62 Plate decorated with Bianco-sopra-bianco 64 Bianco-sopra-bianco popularity curve . 65 Colored glaze popularity curve ........ 67 Rim lining popularity curve .......... 68 Punch bowl decorated with cracked ice 69 Cracked ice popularity curve .......... 70 Plate decorated with dot and diaper . 71 Dot and diaper popularity curve . 72 Bowl decorated with floral panels . 74 Floral panel popularity curve ........ 75 Tankard shapes ......................... 76 Barrel-shaped tankard popularity curve . 77 Globular tankard popularity curve . 78 Caudle cup popularity curve .......... 79 Pear-shaped tankard popularity curve . 80 Glass-bottomed tankard popularity curve 81 Cylindrical tankard popularity curve . 82 Punch bowls: height versus diameter . 85 Punch bowls of different shapes . 86 Caudle cup decorated with powdering . 87 Powdered decoration popularity curve . 88 vii Plate decorated with powdering ............ 89 Powdered decoration popularity curve .... 90 Scratched decoration popularity curve . 91 Plate decorated with sponging ............. 92 Sponged decoration popularity curve .... 93 Comparing "Bird on Rock" for two samples . 98 Comparing seated figure for two samples . 99 Comparing Chinese floral for two samples . 100 Comparing Oriental landscape for two samples 101 Comparing maritime for two samples ........ 103 Comparing royal portraits for two samples 104 Comparing armorial for two samples ........ 105 Comparing bianco-sopra-bianco for two samples 106 Comparing rim lining for two samples .... 108 Comparing cracked ice for two samples . 109 Comparing dot and diaper for two samples . 110 Comparing floral panels for two samples . 111 Comparing colored glazes for two samples . 113 Comparing powdering for two samples .... 114 Comparing scratching for two samples .... 115 Comparing sponging for two samples ........ 116 Unidentified sherds from St. Mary's City . - 120 viii Figure Page 66. Drawing of identifiable delftware from St. Mary's Ci t y ........................... 121 67. Sherds with sponged decoration ........... 122 68. Date ranges for all a t t r i b u t e s ........... 129 69. Barrel-shaped tankard popularity curve . 132 ix ABSTRACT The purpose of this study is to provide an improved method of dating English delftware of the seventeenth and eighteenth century. Until now the use of delftware as an archaeological dating tool has been limited. Using a different focus and methodology from those previously used, this study has shown that delftware can, in fact, be tightly dated. A large sample of dated delftware vessels were quantified and arranged to form popularity curves. These curves show beginning and end dates of manufacture, mean dates and median dates, based on design changes in delftware decoration. Testing the results on a second sample and on an archaeological assemblage confirmed the validity of the analysis. With the completion of this analysis, English delftware gains importance and utility as a means of dating archaeological sites and materials. x DELFTWARE CHRONOLOGY: A NEW APPROACH TO DATING ENGLISH TIN-GLAZED CERAMICS CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION TO DELFTWARE "Chronology in archaeology is one of the cornerstones for all analysis," says James Deetz (1977:16) in his book In Small Things Forgotten. "The determination of the age of this or that archaeological site is critical before any consideration of process through time can be attempted." No matter what research goals are being pursued, unless the dates of archaeological materials are first established, the information provided by those materials is of limited use. Therefore, before further analysis can be undertaken, chronology must be considered. In order to establish the timeframe of a site, archaeologists use the artifacts recovered from that site as dating tools. Fortunately, the dates of manufacture and use are known for many types of artifacts that appear in archaeological assemblages. Among the more abundant of these types are ceramics. Ceramic chronology is the focus of this study. Ceramics appear in quantity on most historic sites. Because of this, they have been used extensively in many different types of analysis, from studies of foodways to economic interpretation. 2 3 However, one of the primary interpretive roles played by pottery is as a tool for dating. Much is known about the chronology of ceramic manufacture through documentary and archaeological research, and this information is of great use to archaeologists. Not all ceramic types, however, are as useful in dating as others. English tin-enameled ware, or delftware, of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries is one ware type whose potential as a dating tool has seemed limited. There are several reasons why this is so, and they will be discussed in more detail below. Briefly, they include the lack of documentary sources, the fragile nature of tin-glazed ware and the goals of previous research. The ceramic assemblages from 17th and 18th century archaeological sites often contain a great deal of English delftware. In order to increase English delftware*s potential as a dating tool, an analysis of decorative styles and techniques was conducted. This study resulted in short-term date ranges