Tin Glazed Earthenware Sherds (Archaeological Find)
Files
Title:
Tin Glazed Earthenware Sherds
Subject:
Tin Glazed Earthenware Sherds
Description:
Joseph Browne, Harvard Class of 1666
These fragments are from two plates that I broke in 1664 during my sophomore year at the College. My friends and I may have had too much rum, and our rowdiness got rather out of hand. We thought it would be enjoyable to have a competition of bowling on our dormitory, but since we had no bowling balls we decided to use our plates instead. We used thin books as the pins, and rolled our plates towards them. I must have rolled mine rather hard, as it went flying down the floor, hitting the wall with a large crash. Pieces scattered all around, and I was saddened to see my favorite plate suffer such a horrid end. You see, my father had bought me this plate in Boston before my first year of College. Every student brings their own plate to the College to consume their meals with, and I had formed quite an attachment with mine. I was a large fan of the geometric blue design, as it was very popular during that time. It was a cheap English-manufactured plate, and my father had told me to be gentle with it as it was liable to shatter easily. I didn’t mind its cheapness or its fragility, as at the time I believed it looked just like a piece of fine China. But now, seeing its ruined and shattered pieces, I can finally see that it is far from being Chinese porcelain — it’s merely coarse clay glazed in white and fired.
Source:
Morison, Samuel E. 1936. Three Centuries of Harvard, 1636-1936. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Maryland Archaeological Conservation Lab. 2002. "Colonial Ceramics - Tin Glazed". Maryland Archaeological Conservation Lab Website. Accessed May 1, 2017. http://www.jefpat.org/diagnostic/ColonialCeramics/Colonial%20Ware%20Descriptions/Tin-glazed.html
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. 2016. "Kitchens" Colonial Williamsburg Website. Accessed May 1, 2017. https://www.history.org/Foundation/journal/Summer07/kitchens.cfm
Hume, Ivor Noel. 1970. “A Guide to Artifacts of Colonial America”. the University of Michigan: Alfred A. Knopf.
Sears, Lorenzo. 1912. John Hancock: The Picturesque Patriot. Boston, MA: Little, Brown.
Unger, Harlow Giles. 2000. John Hancock: Merchant King and American Patriot. New York: John Wiley & Sons.
Object Name:
Tin Glazed Earthenware Sherds
Inventory Description:
Two tin-glazed earthenware sherds, likely part of plates. Both are earthenware of medium refinement.
Peabody Number:
2016.29.84
Intrasite:
H932 Level 2
Depth:
67-96
Class 1:
Ceramic
Class 2:
Sherd
Class 3:
Earthenware
Quantity:
2
Height (cm):
3.1cm
Width (cm):
4.2cm
Depth/Thickness (cm):
0.5cm