New Market Site Ceramics - A Philadelphia Discovery

For the last several weeks, our blog posts have focused on the 50^th anniversary of Tropical Storm Agnes and its impact on archaeological sites and cultural resources in Pennsylvania. This week, we would like to turn back to happier subjects and have a look at some of the beautiful ceramic vessels from a site discovered in the city of Philadelphia.

In the 1970s, construction of portions of I-95 and urban redevelopment projects occurred in the oldest sections of the city near the waterfront, prompting archaeological investigations in the areas that would be affected by demolition and construction activities. Several new historic archaeological sites were discovered as a result of these investigations, including the New Market site, 36PH0015.

In the 18^th century, the public market, consisting of a row of covered shed stalls, ran along the middle of Second Street between Pine and South streets. The area surrounding the market was marked by the homes of the wealthy and influential. Thousands of artifacts recovered from excavations in this area yielded information on the diet, lifestyle, and economic status of the people who once lived and worked there. 

Some of these artifacts went on display in Philadelphia as part of the collections of the Atwater Kent Museum; however, after a time the collection was put into storage in the city. While in storage, the boxes of artifacts were damaged by water and vandalism and many objects ended up being dumped from their original boxes and bags, losing their context or connection to the original site. They were later donated to The State Museum of Pennsylvania, where they are currently curated.

 

Map of the City of Philadelphia c. 1802 Showing the Early City and Delaware River Waterfront (public domain) 

During the early years of settlement of the city of Philadelphia, most of the ceramics that people used were imported from Britain or Europe. A popular type of ceramic that was introduced to Europe in the 16^th century was porcelain from China. English attempts to reproduce Chinese porcelain in the early to mid-1700s were unsuccessful but resulted in new types of ceramics, including tin-glazed earthenware and salt-glazed stoneware.

Many types of ceramics were recovered from Site 36PH0015 including lovely, delicate tea and table wares made of salt-glazed stoneware. These wares are marked by thin vessel walls and an orange-peel-like surface appearance and were very popular in the 18^th century.  Other examples of scratch blue (and black) decorated salt-glazed stoneware have geometric or floral designs etched into the vessel body.

Examples of Delicate Salt-glazed Stoneware Tea and Table Wares from 36PH0015 (photo by PHMC)

Examples of Floral Designs in Scratch Blue and Black Salt-glazed Stoneware from 36PH0015 (photo by PHMC) 

Another common type of ceramic found at site 36PH0015 was red earthenware or redware, so-called due to its red color. Redware has been made for centuries and continues to be produced to this day. Although the first redware would have been brought to Philadelphia from England and Europe, local potteries were soon established. Clay sources were discovered within the city itself that were used for manufacture of bricks and for making redware pottery.

These large redware serving plates, or chargers, are typically highly decorated. Decorative elements on these chargers include colored glazes and slips, combed slips, and depictions of figures, animals, and flowers, as well as geometric designs.

Decorative Redware Chargers from Site 36PH0015. Charger at Left Displays a Horse and Rider Scene (photo by PHMC)

Decorative Redware Chargers from Site 36PH0015 (photo by PHMC)

Other forms of decorative ceramics from 36PH0015 include bowls, candlestick holders, figurines, mugs, pitchers, chamberpots, and other objects. A lovely polychrome painted redware bowl in the collection may be an example of work from 18^th-century Moravian potters. 

Decorated Redware Bowl, Staffordshire Candlestick Holder, and Polychrome Painted Redware Bowl (photo by PHMC)

Other objects are more utilitarian and less decorative, including these three small glazed redware pieces. The small size of the mug indicates that it may have been for a child.

Small Redware Jugs and Mug (photo by PHMC)

Dishes, mugs, and cups often featured bright colors and whimsical designs such as the creamware pieces pictured below. Popular designs included using metallic oxides to make ‘clouded’ and ‘tortoiseshell’ color palettes and fruit and vegetable shapes such as the melon tureen and cauliflower-shaped teacup. Creamware was highly fashionable at the turn of the 19^th century and wealthy Philadelphians would have bought these flashy and unique ceramics to keep up with trends. 

Examples of Decorative Creamware: Wieldonware Plate, Stylized Sprig-molded Melon Tureen Lid, Cauliflower Teacup, and Striped Teacup (photo by PHMC)

These are just a few of the many different types of ceramics that were recovered during excavations at this site. Due to the number of archaeological projects and recorded sites in Philadelphia, there are also many other site collections that contain these types of ceramics. As always, the New Market artifact assemblage and other collections held by the Section of Archaeology are available for use by anyone with scholarly research objectives.

We hope you’ve enjoyed learning more about these beautiful ceramics and the important information that they hold for archaeologists in understanding the daily lives of early Philadelphia citizens. Below is a list of some of the many publications relating to archaeology in Philadelphia. We hope you will be inspired to examine the archaeological record of your community and help us to preserve the past.

 

For Additional Reading:

Carpentier, Donald and Jonathan Rickard 

2001    Slip Decoration in the Age of Industrialization. Ceramics in America 2001. Chipstone Foundation, Milwaukee, WI. 

 

Cotter, John L., Daniel G. Roberts Michael Parrington

1992    The Buried Past: An Archaeological History of Philadelphia. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia Pa.

 

Liggett, Barbara

1978    Archaeology at New Market Exhibit Catalogue. The Athenaeum of Philadelphia.

 

Myers, Susan H.

1980    Handcraft to Industry: Philadelphia Ceramic in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century. Smithsonian Studies in History and Technology, No. 43. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.

 

Orr, David G. 

2003    Samuel Malkin in Philadelphia: A Remarkable Slipware Assemblage. Ceramics in America 2003, pp. 252-255 (http://www.chipstone.org/article.php/97/Ceramics-in-America-2003/Samuel-Malkin-in-Philadelphia:-A-remarkable-Slipware-Assemblage).  

 

Yamin, Rebecca 

2008    Digging in the City of Brotherly Love: Stories from Philadelphia Archaeology. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT. 

 

For more information, visit PAarchaeology.state.pa.us or the Hall of Anthropology and Archaeology at The State Museum of Pennsylvania .

Colonial Ceramics Series - Creamware

This week we continue our series on early historic ceramics recovered from archaeological sites and their significance in the historic and archaeological record. Past posts have discussed Jackfield (1745-1790), Scratch blue (1744-1775), and Slipware (1675-1770) ceramics. Colonial ceramics of the 17th & 18th century are typically divided into three categories: Earthenware, Stoneware and Porcelain. These categories are derived from the clays used in manufacture as well as the firing techniques. 

Creamware cup replicates the form of Chinese Porcelain cups

Chinese Porcelain cup from collections of The State Museum of Pennsylvania

Creamware, sometimes referred to as cream-colored ware, is a clear lead glazed refined earthenware ceramic first produced in the Staffordshire region of England in the 1740s. The first and defining characteristic of creamware is its off-white or cream-colored body, and paste. This is attributed to iron impurities in the source clay. Another tell-tale sign of creamware can be found where the clear lead glaze collects and pools in the crevasses of a piece, often apparent around the base or foot ring. In these areas where the glaze is thickest it will appear green or yellow green in color. 

Pooling of clear lead glaze in base with slight yellow green tint

(Head House, Philadelphia) Collections of The State Museum of Pennsylvania

“Importation of Chinese porcelain into Europe provided a great catalyst for the experimentation in the quest for the secret of making porcelain.” (Miller and Hunter 2001:135). Without diving into the complex chemistry involved, creamware is the result of one of those experiments. By 1760 the popularity of creamware began to overshadow earlier attempts to mimic porcelain, such as tin-glazed delft wares and salt-glazed stonewares, and well-established potters like Wedgwood and Whieldon were producing creamware in quantities to meet demand.

Creamware would continue to be produced through 1820 with a variety of decorations including clouded-creamware, or Whieldon, molded patterns like queensware, as well as hand-painted and transfer-printed designs. As with the earlier ceramic types, creamware also found itself falling out of favor by the 1790s with the introduction of pearlware, another refined earthenware, whiter in appearance than creamware and closer to the goal of a porcelain-like ceramic that consumers coveted.

Below is a small creamware mug from the Market St. excavations in Philadelphia. This specimen exhibits a hand painted dark brown annual band near the rim and base, and also has a dark brown transfer-printed star and sprig motif on the body of the mug opposite the handle.

Creamware mug from 36Ph1

We hope you will continue to follow our blog to learn more about the incredible ceramics that have been recovered by archaeologists from across the Commonwealth. The preservation of these objects provides a personal glimpse into the lives of early colonists and of the potters who produced them. German immigrants who became potters in Philadelphia, Lancaster and York developed their methods and refined the clay available locally to produce ceramics that would replace those from Europe and led the way for many artisan crafts throughout the colony.

Advancements in science have allowed archaeologists to analyze clay sources and trace them to regions and in some cases, potters.  Archaeologists have the unique ability of finding the stories of everyday life through the evidence of the past- even if it is only a broken piece of pottery.

References:

Miller, George L. and Robert Hunter

2001      How Creamware got the Blues: The Origins of China Glaze and Pearlware. In Ceramics in America, Robert Hunter editor, Chipstone Foundation.

 

Noel Hume, Ivor

1969      A Guide to Artifacts of Colonial America. Alfred A. Knopf Publishers

 

Miller, George L. Hunter, Robert (editor)

2008      Book Review of Creamware and Pearlware Re-examined. Thomas Walford and Roger Massey, editors In Ceramics in America, Robert Hunter editor, Chipstone Foundation..

 

Websites:

Creamware - Wikipedia

Diagnostic Artifacts in Maryland

HistoricCeramicTypesChart.pdf(maryland.gov) (PDF)

 

For more information, visit PAarchaeology.state.pa.us or the Hall of Anthropology and Archaeology at The State Museum of Pennsylvania .

Broken Pottery’s Role in Archaeology - Colonial Ceramics Series

This week we continue our series on early historic ceramics often recovered on archaeological sites and their significance in the historic and archaeological record. Past posts have discussed Jackfield (1745-1790) and Scratch blue (1744-1775) ceramics. Colonial ceramics of the 17^th & 18^th century are typically divided into three categories: Earthenware, Stoneware and Porcelain. These categories are derived from the clays used in manufacture as well as the firing techniques. Scratch blue is a salt-glazed stoneware, as its name implies it is a harder, more durable ceramic. The clay body is vitrified meaning non-porous, due in part to firing it between 1200-1300 degrees Celsius.

 Earthenware ceramics 

 Earthenware ceramics are fired at lower temperatures in the range of 900-1050 degrees Celsius. This lower firing means that the vessel doesn’t naturally hold liquids, and required a glaze be applied to either the interior or exterior surface for it to hold liquids. Not all vessels were glazed, flowerpots are an example of unglazed earthenware. This category of pottery was relatively easy and inexpensive to produce, making this the most prolific of the ceramic types of the period. Porcelain required white clays that could withstand kiln temperatures over 1300 degrees Celsius. They were more difficult to produce and their delicate nature meant they were not as commonly used in working class households. Archaeologists rely on ceramics not only as a tool for dating archaeological sites and features, but also to examine socio-economic conditions and consumer behavior. For many people a broken piece of pottery is viewed as rubbish, for an archaeologist it can contain a wealth of information and lead to an understanding and appreciation for the occupants of the site or household, and the potter who produced the ware. 

  Fragments of 18^th century pottery recovered at Fort Hunter (36Da159)

Our focus this week is on another earthenware ceramic appropriately termed slipware for their manor of decoration. This coarse buff or yellow-bodied clay was frequently decorated with a combed pattern utilizing iron oxide or manganese slip under a clear to pale-yellow glaze. Slip is a combination of water, clay, and minerals developed by the potter to create a solution for decorating pottery.  Some vessels were decorated with dark spots or dots, leading collectors to identify these as “dot” wares. (Hume 1970) Produced in England (1675-1770) it is associated with a district known as Staffordshire, but other English and Dutch potters were producing slipware as well. These distinct vessels with dark brown decoration and yellow-gold colored body occur frequently on 18^th century sites in Pennsylvania. Their period of manufacture is longer than that of Jackfield or Scratch-blue stoneware, but variations in pattern, level of clay refinement and the later use of clay molds aids in refining dates of manufacture and in some cases, the potter. 

Various forms of combed slipware from the collections of The State Museum of Pennsylvania

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Image of slipware vessel, comb slip decoration with dot pattern on rim.

Collections of The State Museum, Archaeology

Curated among the broken pieces of pottery from excavations in Philadelphia in the 1970’s, is an assemblage of slipware recovered from 121-123 Market Street.  Excavation of the well discovered at this location, produced an assortment of pottery, wine glasses and a William III half-penny (1694-1702). Archaeologists analyzed the artifacts recovered from the well and determined the well had been sealed around 1760, creating a time capsule of its use by the household. Reconstructed vessels would later connect these broken pieces of slipware pottery with their creator, Samuel Malkin (1668-1741). 

Samuel Malkin plates, close-up of initials S and M on either side of dot

Samuel Malkin’s pottery has been traced to Burslem, North Staffordshire, England during the period of 1710-1740. His pottery was among hundreds of small craft potteries located there, and it is estimated that by 1800, they employed more than seven thousand workers. Among the reconstructed slipware vessels from Philadelphia were several vessels with relief-decorated designs. Two of the vessels  contained large dark brown dots, four crosses and the letters S and M. Identified as press molded, this method of production was employed by others, but Malkin was one of the last utilizing this technique, and by the end of the 18^th century this process had greatly declined. The use of relief decoration allowed for more elaborate designs than wheel thrown vessels and while labor intense to produce, these “signature” pieces provide a direct link to the potter.  The increased demand for quality ceramics not only in England but also in the colonies provided a market for skilled potters such as Malkin.

Two additional vessels reconstructed from the well provide a more iconic image of these early potters and demonstrates the social and cultural artistry often employed by these skilled craftsmen. The design of these vessels described as “sunfaces” are attributed to Samuel Malkin based on research by David Orr (personal communication). Dr. Orr, retired Senior Regional Archaeologist for the Northeast Region of the National Park Service, has examined multiple vessels created by Malkin and believes these to be among his creations. Orr has suggested possible religious connotations depicted by the celestial suns and the multiple examples of biblical phrases on other Malkin vessels. It’s doubtful we will ever know why these faces were chosen or their symbolism for the consumer, but the craftsmanship of Samuel Malkin nearly 300 years ago is preserved in those broken pieces of pottery allowing future generations to appreciate and understand his story.

1 Probable S. Malkin plate on display at The State Museum of Pennsylvania

2  Sunface plate in collections of The State Museum

We hope you will continue to follow our blog to learn more about the incredible ceramics that have been recovered by archaeologists from across the Commonwealth. The preservation of these objects provides a personal glimpse into the lives of early colonists and of the potters who produced them. German immigrants who became potters in Philadelphia, Lancaster and York developed their methods and refined the clay available locally to produce ceramics that would replace those from Europe and led the way for many artisan crafts throughout the colony.

Advancements in science have allowed archaeologists to analyze clay sources and trace them to regions and in some cases potters.  Archaeologists have the unique ability of finding the stories of everyday life through the evidence of the past- even if it is only a broken piece of pottery.

Please visit our website for additional objects from our collections at; https://www.phmc.pa.gov/Museums/Online-Collection/Pages/default.aspx

For additional examples of Samuel Malkin pottery visit the on-line collection of the British Museum;

https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG74295

 

Bibliography

Dean, Darron. "A Slipware Dish by Samuel Malkin: An Analysis of Vernacular Design." Journal of Design History 7, no. 3 (1994): 153-67. Accessed February 25, 2021. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1316113.

Hunter, Robert. 2003. Ceramics in America 2003. Milwaukee, Wis: Chipstone Foundation. Samuel Malkin in Philadelphia: A remarkable Slipware Assemblage. David G. Orr

Noël Hume, Ivor. 1970. A Guide to Artifacts of Colonial America. New York: Alfred A. Knopf

For more information, visit PAarchaeology.state.pa.us or the Hall of Anthropology and Archaeology at The State Museum of Pennsylvania .

Early Ceramics of Philadelphia: Examples from the Market Street Project

Many of the collections in the Section of Archaeology were recovered from the city of Philadelphia. These collections are full of beautiful ceramic vessels that document the European settlement and early occupation of this area. Today we will look at a collection from Market Street that contains a wide variety of ceramics.

The city of Philadelphia was founded in 1682 by William Penn and his Quaker followers and by the end of the eighteenth century was the largest urban center in the United States. The earliest settlement of the city began along the waterfront of the Delaware River along Front Street and spread north and south. Market Street runs west from Front Street toward the Schuylkill River and is part of the “old City”. As well as being one of the earliest sections of the city, the east end of Market Street housed the first printing office of Benjamin Franklin, in which he printed The Pennsylvania Gazette.

Map of the city of Philadelphia in 1802 Showing Market Street and the waterfront (Public Domain)

Archaeological excavations were undertaken in the 1970s by PennDOT prior to the construction of an access ramp over I-95 between the Penn’s Landing Development and Market Street.

Preliminary work on this project would involve the demolition of 19 structures from Market Street to Church Street and between Front and Second Streets. The firm of Abraham Levy Architect, under the direction of Herbert Levy and Charles Hunter, was hired to conduct archaeological salvage prior to the demolition activities.

Surprisingly, beneath the buildings located within the demolition area a number of historic features were found, including wells, privies, garbage pits, and foundations of earlier buildings. These features represented the daily life of this part of the city during the early-eighteenth through mid-nineteenth centuries. Thousands of artifacts were recovered from the excavations and a total of eight sites were recorded (36Ph1 thru 36Ph8).

During the earliest years of settlement of Philadelphia, a large proportion of its ceramics would have been imported from England. Types such as Nottingham and Fulham stonewares, Staffordshire earthenware, and North Devon Sgraffito are all named for the areas of England in which they were produced.  Examples of these types were recovered from the Market Street sites.

Early English ceramics, including: (l. to r.) Fulham stoneware, Nottingham stoneware, combed Staffordshire, North Devon Sgraffito earthenware, combed Staffordshire (photo by PHMC)

Porcelain from China was a very popular type of ceramic that was introduced to Europe in the sixteenth century and was later produced specifically for the export market. Attempts to reproduce Chinese porcelain in the early to mid-1700s were unsuccessful but resulted in a new type of ceramic called tin-glazed earthenware, which was manufactured in England, France, Italy, and Spain.

Examples of tin-glazed earthenware (top) and Chinese porcelain (bottom) from Market Street (photo by PHMC)

Another common type of ceramic was red earthenware or redware, so-called due to its red color. Redware has been made for centuries and continues to be made to this day. Although the first redware would have been brought from England and Europe, local potteries were soon established. Local clay sources from within the city itself were used for manufacture of bricks and likely were also used for making redware.

Brightly colored examples of redware from Market Street sites (photo by PHMC)

Two such local redware potters were Daniel Topham, who operated a pottery along 8^th and Filbert Streets from 1766 to 1783, and Andrew Miller, Sr., who purchased the same property and operated his pottery from 1785 until his sons took over in the early 1800s. It is not known if any of the redware pieces in the collection were made by either Topham or Miller, but it is certainly possible that some of the redware comes from one or both of these sites.

Throughout the 1700s, potters continued to attempt to produce “porcelain-like” pottery and more refined ceramic types. These ranged from more delicate redwares, white (and scratch-blue) salt-glazed stoneware, and creamware.

Three teapots: (l. to r.) Refined red ware, white salt-glazed stoneware, and creamware

Thin-bodied, white earthenwares with beautiful and creative decoration, called pearlware, developed near the end of the eighteenth century. Pearlwares were very popular and came in a wide range of decorative techniques including mocha, banded or annular, marbled, engine-turned, rouletted, dipped, and many others.

Pearlware and creamware vessels with a variety of decoration were recovered from Market Street sites: mocha and banded mocha, dipped, engine-turned and rouletted, and marbled (photo by PHMC)

Even more delicate pearlwares can be found in the form of teacups and bowls. A great assortment of teacups, bowls, and saucers were recovered from the Market Street sites. Many of these are decorated with flowers, geometric designs, and Chinese scenes that have been hand painted or transfer-printed.

Pearlware teacups and saucers in varying designs and patterns (photo by PHMC)

These are just some of the many types of ceramics that were found during the excavations at Market Street. While the majority of the pieces discussed here were imported from Europe there were also a great number of potteries in and around the Philadelphia area throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that may be examined in future blogs. Additionally, ceramics were not the only artifacts recovered from these sites as they were rich with domestic goods and personal items that tell a story about the lives of the people of Philadelphia.

Due to the numbers of archaeological projects and recorded sites in Philadelphia, there are also many other site collections that contain these types of historic ceramics. As always, the Market Street assemblage and other collections held by the Section of Archaeology are available for use by anyone with scholarly research objectives.

Archaeological research of early ceramics has yielded fascinating information about consumerism in colonial America. The wealthy Quaker households of Philadelphia contained fine imported ceramics and glass stemware as opposed to the working-class neighborhoods with their locally made redware plates, bowls and tankards. The key role Philadelphia’s location along the Delaware and Schuylkill river played an important part in distributing these ceramics into the surrounding communities and researchers have traced Philadelphia potters across Pennsylvania.

We hope you’ve enjoyed learning more about these beautiful ceramics but will also understand the important information they hold for archaeologists in understanding the activities of our early settlers. Preservation of the archaeological record from these historic neighborhoods have produced numerous publications. Below is a list of just a few that help to tell the story of Philadelphia’s past. We hope you will be inspired to examine the archaeological record of your community and help us to preserve the past.

For Additional Reading:

Carpentier, Donald and Jonathan Rickard

2001            Slip Decoration in the Age of Industrialization. Ceramics in America 2001. Chipstone Foundation, Milwaukee, WI.

Cotter, John L., Daniel G. Roberts, Michael Parrington

1992            The Buried Past: An Archaeological History of Philadelphia. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia, PA.

Articles on Bonnin and Morris, Philadelphia porcelain makers:

Hunter, Robert

2007            Ceramics in America. University Press of New England, Lebanon, NH.

Myers, Susan H.

1980            Handcraft to Industry: Philadelphia Ceramics in the First Half of the Nineteenth Century. Smithsonian Studies in History and Technology, No. 43. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C.

Orr, David G.

2003            Samuel Malkin in Philadelphia: A Remarkable Slipware Assemblage. Ceramics in America 2003, pp. 252-255 (http://www.chipstone.org/article.php/97/Ceramics-in-America-2003/Samuel-Malkin-in-Philadelphia:-A-remarkable-Slipware-Assemblage).

Yamin, Rebecca

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2008            Digging in the City of Brotherly Love: Stories from Philadelphia Archaeology. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT.

For more information, visit PAarchaeology.state.pa.us or the Hall of Anthropology and Archaeology at The State Museum of Pennsylvania .
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