Artifacts in Focus: Redware Vessels (May 27, 2020)

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These redware vessels were recovered from sub-floor deposits in a c. 1690-1720s dwelling/slave quarter/out-kitchen in Burlington County. The building was the first home at the site to the affluent Quaker Restore Lippincott family from about 1690 to 1700 when a second larger dwelling was built leaving the first building to serve as a slave quarters and out-kitchen. This building also contained the engraved bone needle case features on January 22, 2020. The right vessel is a portion of an Essex Post-medieval Fine Redware storage pot with a light lead glazed and thumb-impressed decorated exterior. This ware dates to the early to mid-seventeenth century.

The right vessel is a small collared bowl, a vessel style common on sixteenth to early eighteenth-century sites in England and early colonial areas. The interior decoration includes slip-trailed rings and a bird design at its center. Oxidized copper or brass filings added some green color to the decoration. The bird could represent a phoenix or peacock. Peacocks, while they didn't seem to be tasty, were features on estates and they were occasional foods for affluent people due to the novelty or exclusivity of the bird. The two redware vessels speak to the age of the site and the owner's connection to England.

📸: Allison Gall
📩: Adam Heinrich and Danielle Cathcart

Artifacts in Focus: Pearlware Plate Rim (March 18, 2020)

This Pearlware plate rim fragment was discovered in a box of artifacts from an old collection that is being rehoused. Pearlware can sometimes be difficult to identify, but this piece offered us some nice hints with its generally blue-toned color and blue specks observable in the glaze, which are two strong pieces of evidence for its identification!

This particular piece is believed to have been produced sometime in the 1820s or 1830s, based on the presence of the embossed foliage motif around the rim, a popular decorative style in that period. Old collections can sometimes prove to be illusive in terms of provenience, as the paperwork associated with them is often missing or has not been read in so long that a bit of contextual untangling must be performed before conclusions can be drawn! With time, we will understand the story of this little fragment better. 😊

If you have found yourself with some new time on your hands, you can learn more about collections management here: https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1802/collections_mgt.htm.

📸: Alexis Alemy

Artifacts in Focus: Debased Westerwald (March 11, 2020)

This probable tankard fragment was recovered from the Buried A horizon of an archaeological excavation. Buried A soil horizons may be indicative of a buried living surface (one on which historic people might have walked!) in archaeological terms, and sometimes contain within them dateable and unexpected artifacts! You can learn more about buried soil horizons here: https://www.sassa.org.uk/index.php/Tutorial:Buried_Soils.

This grey-bodied salt glazed stoneware fragment is stylized similarly to German Westerwald stonewares, but lacks the quality typically expected from them. It is believed to be a fragment of what is known as “debased” Westerwald, identifiable by its comparatively crude hand-painted design and generally poorer quality. Likely locally produced, the production of this fragment may range from about 1714 to 1760.

📸: Michael Brown

Artifact of the Month: January 2016

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Photo Credit: Steve Santucci

West Morris Mendham History Club Archaeological Dig with Sean McHugh, Wendy Miervaldis and Steve Santucci. The site is noted to have been constructed sometimes in the early 1750s as a tavern in Chester! The scene here is Sean taking the lead in directing students in digging the test pit for the builders trench. We look forward to heading back to the site in Spring. (Above left, left to right) Artifacts include yellowware, bottle glass and redware with manganese glaze. 

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Photo Credit: Steve Santucci

Submitted by: 

Steve Santucci
West Morris Mendham HS history teacher
& 
2nd NJ regiment, Maxwell's Brigade of the Continental line
Adjutant/reenactor

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Artifact of the Month: November 2015

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Photography by Allison Gall

Neo-classical polychrome and blue painted pearlware tea wares. This burnt set was recovered from a late 18th-century out kitchen in Manalapan, New Jersey that was destroyed by fire around 1799. The set includes a two-cup teapot and two tea bowls.