Identifying Historic Ceramics on MSU’s Campus
One of the most numerous types of artifacts that we find on campus includes various types of ceramics. This range from domestic whiteware plates, bowls and cups to more industrial earthenwares for pipes and flower pots. The type of pottery and the decorations on it are important towards not only dating a site, but also for understanding the economic and social status of an area. For example, wealthier individuals tend to have porcelain dining sets with intricate designs whereas the lower classes had whiteware sets with less detailed patterns. Luckily, the identification of pottery is a fairly straightforward process based on looking at the paste, glaze and decoration. Since the pottery we find is often in smaller sherds or pieces, it is important to describe the artifact as fully as possible in order to gain as much information as we can from it.
Paste refers to the clay mixture that makes up the vessel. Clay is mixed with other natural substances like sand or silt known as the temper in order to prevent cracking when firing. The paste can be described by its color or translucence, hardness, porosity, and texture. These are divided in the historic period into earthenware, stoneware and porcelain. Earthenware is subdivided into the various colors including whiteware, yellow ware, cream ware, and red ware.
Glaze is the glassy outer and inner coating on the vessel, made from a silicate mixture. The silica is glass like and can be mixed with a number of materials including lead, sodium, potassium, salts, copper or iron. The color and composition of the glaze is important. The glaze varies by time period, region, ware type and preference.
Decoration consists of the methods by which the patterns are applied to the ceramic. They can be applied over or under the glaze. For historic periods, the decoration was either applied free-hand or through the use of transfer prints. Decoration can also include the molded relief patterns. Color and pattern are important in identifying historical periods and regions.
Here are a couple of examples of items we have found at MSU during our excavations and how the identification has proceeded.
Ceramic #1
Although the smaller version of the picture makes it difficult to see, the paste is a white color and fine grained. We cannot tell from the picture whether it is hard or porous, but we know that it is both. This means that this is most likely a white earthenware. The glaze both internally and externally is white and the vessel lacks any decoration other than the slight molding lines in the handle. Given the simplicity of the piece it is difficult to determine more information, we do know that the piece dated to the earliest era of campus because the handle was added by hand.
Ceramic #2
The paste in this piece is much thicker than the previous, with a yellow-brown color, with a medium to fine grain. It is also hard and porous. It is earthenware, specifically yellow ware. The glaze is very distinctive brown and yellow mottled appearance. This pattern in particular is known as Rockingham. The pattern was created by melting the two glaze colors together. The piece also has a distinctive molded appearance that creates two raised areas.
By carefully describing the pottery by its different parts we can piece together what ware it was and discern more social information about the piece. For example, the undecorated mug was likely a piece owned by a student or the campus. The lack of decoration means that it wasn’t from a wealthy household, and is more utilitarian than decorative. Other pieces we have found do have patterns, although they are not the detailed patterns nor are they found on porcelain, suggesting that finer ceramics and nice pottery was not part of the campus.
As we continue to identify our artifacts found over the summer, we will be able to learn more about the students and faculty on campus in the earliest periods.
Works Cited
University of Utah. IMACs Guide to Artifacts. Electronic Resource. http://www.anthro.utah.edu/labs/imacs.html
Author: Katy Meyers Emery