Ivor Noël Hume
X Commandments

Ceramics in America 2014

Full Article
Contents
  • Figure 1
    Figure 1

    Beaker, Egypt, post-4000 B.C. Earthenware. H. 3 7/8". (All objects from the author’s collection unless otherwise noted; photo, Robert Hunter.) The decoration is the result of both oxidization and reduction in the firing. The incised graffito is of Coptic origin, ca. 500 B.C.

  • Figure 2
    Figure 2

    Naturally mummified adult male, alongside Badarian-style beakers, reputedly Gebelein, Egypt, Predynastic period, ca. 3500 B.C. L. 64 1/8". (© Trustees of the British Museum.) The mummy is often referred to by the name Ginger, referencing the tufts of ginger-colored hair on its scalp.

  • Figure 3
    Figure 3

    Beakers, Upchurch, England, 1st century A.D. Burnished gray-bodied earthenware. H. 6 5/8" (left) and 5" (right). (Photo, Gavin Ashworth.) These “Upchurch ware” vessels were recovered together from the Medway Marshes.

  • Figure 4
    Figure 4

    Untitled engraving, England, ca. 1870. Local antiquaries sent servants into the mud in search of Upchurch pots while they picnicked on the high ground.

  • Figure 5
    Figure 5

    Amphora, Roman, 1st century A.D. Unglazed earthenware. H. 38". (Courtesy, Museum of London Archaeology.) The amphora is flanked by a wine jar, both excavated in London in 1950.

  • Figure 6
    Figure 6

    Roman amphora and wine jar illustrated in fig. 5 as first uncovered in the 1950 archaeological excavation, after having been smashed during the sacking of Londinium in A.D. 61. (Courtesy, Museum of London Archaeology.)

  • Figure 7
    Figure 7

    Dish, attributed to Martin’s Hundred potter Thomas Ward (act. ca. 1620–1635), James City County, Virginia, dated 1631. Slip-decorated earthenware. D. 10 7/8". (Courtesy, Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.)

  • Figure 8
    Figure 8

    Fragments of a cup, London, England, ca. 1665. Tin-glazed earthenware. (Photo, Ivor Noël Hume.) The fragments, excavated from a 1666 deposit at the London Sergeants’ Inn, are shown here with a reproduction cup (H. 5") made by potter Michelle Erickson. 

  • Figure 9
    Figure 9

    Cruet fragments with pewter thumbpiece, France, ca. 1760. Tin-glazed earthenware. H. approx. 4 1/2". (Courtesy, E. B. Tucker Collection; photo, Ivor Noël Hume.) The fragments were recovered from the ca. 1760 wreck of a French ship off the coast of Bermuda.

  • Figure 10
    Figure 10

    Cruet with pewter thumbpiece, France, ca. 1760. Tin-glazed earthenware. H. 4 1/2". (Photo, Robert Hunter.)

  • Figure 11
    Figure 11

    Tankard with original brass mount, England, ca. 1758. Salt-glazed stoneware. H. 8 1/4". Marks: impressed armorial badge of the East India Company; type-impressed “CALCUTTA” (Photos, Robert Hunter.) 

  • Figure 12
    Figure 12

    Detail of the armorial badge on the tankard illustrated in fig. 11.

  • Figure 13
    Figure 13

    Two-handled cup, William Cripps, London, England, 1761–1762. ­Silver. H. 18 1/8". (© National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London.) 

  • Figure 14
    Figure 14

    Puzzle jug, probably South Yorkshire, England, ca. 1795. Pearlware. H. 11". (Photo, Robert Hunter.)

  • Figure 15
    Figure 15

    Detail of the ship Hopewell on the puzzle jug illustrated in fig. 14. 

  • Figure 16
    Figure 16

    Detail of the stern showing the name Wells and the pierced heart on the puzzle jug illustrated in fig. 14.

  • Figure 17
    Figure 17

    Loving cup, England, ca. 1805. Pearlware. H. 8 5/8". (Photo, Robert Hunter.)

  • Figure 18
    Figure 18

    Detail of the central print inside the loving cup illustrated in fig. 17.

  • Figure 19
    Figure 19

    Coffee pot and saucer, Stafford­shire, England, ca. 1805–1810. H. of coffee pot 10". (Photo, Robert Hunter.) The coffee pot has the The Archery Lesson print while the saucer design is known as “The Three Graces.”

  • Figure 20
    Figure 20

    Flask in the shape of a pistol, Joseph Bourne, Denby Pottery, Derby­shire, England, ca. 1845. Salt-glazed stoneware. L. 9 7/8". (Photo, Ivor Noël Hume.)