How To Identify Colonial Ceramics

How to identify colonial era pottery.

How to identify colonial ceramics.

Germans influenced pottery in the northern states. The term ceramic. How to tell porcelain figurines from ceramic. What pottery early american colonists produced was mostly for their own use.

Not all pottery used during the colonial period originated in america. English africans and germans created pottery in the south. While the british were in control american potters were prohibited from making. Marks like the chelsea anchor or the crossed swords of meissen are well known and were often pirated while the significance of others is uncertain.

Without kilns that could produce high firing temperatures they typically produced earthenware using local clay. One such mysterious mark is the capital a found on a rare group of 18th century british. This is the most specific of the elements identifying a ceramic type. The final step in identifying a pottery type is to analyze the decoration.