New Discoveries at Jamestown eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 57 pages of information about New Discoveries at Jamestown.

New Discoveries at Jamestown eBook

This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 57 pages of information about New Discoveries at Jamestown.

[Illustration:  Late 17th-century Italian maiolica bowls excavated at Jamestown.]

[Illustration:  A few examples of English delftware in the Jamestown collection.]

[Illustration]

Delftware.—­This is a soft pottery covered with an opaque white tin glaze, and decorated with hand-painted designs, usually in blues and purples.  A few specimens excavated are embellished with pleasing patterns in polychrome colors.  Most of the delftware unearthed at Jamestown was made in England (Lambeth, Southwark, and Bristol), although a few examples were imported from Holland.

Spanish Maiolica.—­This maiolica is a tin-glazed earthenware with a soft body usually buff in color and porous in texture.  The colorful decorations were hand painted on the absorbent surface—­usually in greens, blues, yellows, and reddish-browns, against a white background.  Some small Spanish jugs in the collection bear very crude dark-red floral designs painted against a cream-colored background.  A few examples of maiolica found at Jamestown are believed to have been made in Lisbon, and these usually have designs in blues and dark purples against a white background.

Salt-glazed Stoneware.—­This common but attractive type of pottery found in many excavations at Jamestown includes mugs, jars, bottles, tankards, and jugs.  It is a very hard ware which was fired at high temperatures and finished with a salt glaze, formed by throwing common salt into the furnace.  The surface of the body has a pitted appearance resembling an orange peel, and is covered with a thin, glasslike coating.  Most of the salt-glazed stoneware unearthed was made in Germany, although a small amount was manufactured in England.

[Illustration:  Colorful Spanish maiolica found which appear to have been made before 1650.]

[Illustration:  A large German stoneware jug unearthed at JamestownThe date “1661” Appears above the medallion.]

[Illustration:  A few examples of German salt-glazed stoneware in the Jamestown collectionAll were made during the 17th century.]

[Illustration:  Reconstructed wineglasses and wineglass fragments in the Jamestown collection.]

[Illustration:  Note the makersmarks or seals on the wineglass fragmentsOnly A few English wineglasses bearing 17th-century makersseals have been found in America.]

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New Discoveries at Jamestown from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.