How to Identify Colonial Era Pottery

Much redware pottery was produced in the Colonial era.

The period of time known as the Colonial era of America encompasses the 17th and most of the 18th centuries. Several varieties of pottery were both made and imported into America during the Colonial era. Types of pottery that were common in Colonial America include earthenwares, such as redwares, hard and softs paste porcelains and stonewares, which commonly featured salt glazes.

Things You'll Need

• Colonial pottery information

Instructions

1. Examine the color of the piece of pottery in question. Redware pottery is a type of earthenware that can ranges from light orange to dark brown in color, and the color is the most distinct marking of redware. Porcelain, on the other hand, is a hard, white pottery. Stonewares also range in color, from white to dark brown, but can be distinguished by salt glazing, which has a bumpy feel.

2. Establish the condition of the piece of pottery. In the Colonial era, pottery was often of poor quality, and basic pieces were produced much more frequently than more complex ones. Basic pottery forms that were popular in the 17th and 18th centuries include a variety of pans and pots, such as chamber and butter pots.

3. Identify any distinguishing features of the piece of pottery. In the Colonial era, many earthenware pottery pieces were finished with an opaque glaze; these pieces are called delft pottery. As mentioned above, items which are salt-glazed, or have a bumpy finish, are stoneware pottery pieces. Common trends for stoneware in the Colonial era were brown salt glazes, grey salt glazes and the use of the colors purple and blue for decoration.

Tips & Warnings

• Handle old pottery very carefully as it can be more prone to cracks and breakage.

References

• Julia Smith: On Pottery in Colonial America

Resources

• Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Colonialism