Dot, diaper white salt glaze stoneware tableware

Notes

This fragment of white salt glazed stoneware is a portion of a plate rim decorated by press molding. This white bodied ceramic was produced by combining naturally white clays with ground and calcined flint. In the process of press molding, clay sheets were pressed into block molds to form both the vessel shape and the decorative elements. The advent of using plaster of paris to create these molds in the Staffordshire potteries, beginning in the 1740s, greatly increased the ease of manufacturing such crisply decorated vessels and therefor increased the availability of these wares in British and colonial stores and homes. George Washington received a substantial order of “white stone” plates, dishes, and assorted other vessels in 1758, and continued to supplement these wares in the following years.

The particular decorative pattern on this rim sherd is called “dot/diaper/basketweave” by archaeologists. This pattern of decoration is found at nearly all sites dating to the mid- and late-eighteenth century at Mount Vernon. The prevalence of the pattern likely suggests it adorned the majority of Washington’s orders for this ceramic.

Object Type

Ceramic

Where Was It Found?

Project Site: House for Families    [more details]