A Little Bowl in the Fort

Native American pottery fragment from the third Fort de Chartres.

Archaeologists spend a lot of time talking about pottery. This humble little fragment from our recent work at Fort de Chartres is an illustration of why that is.

Ninety-nine percent of the ceramics we find at eighteenth century sites in Illinois are European products – mostly French wares before 1750. French merchants and colonists brought these here. The Native American residents of Illinois had ceased to make pottery by this time, and were using brass kettles and the occasional piece of French faience. The dominant indigenous group during the occupation of Fort de Chartres was the Illinois nation. By the time the third fort was constructed in 1732, the Illinois had been without a native pottery tradition for about 50 years. The last evidence for their manufacture of pottery (called “Danner Series) was in pre-1680 contexts in the upper Illinois River valley.

Danner Series sherd from the 17th century Zimmerman site, in the upper Illinois River Valley.

By the 1680s or 1690s, the Illinois were no longer making clay pots. The reason for this is complex. The old chestnut has been that they traded in their ancient practice of pottery making for shiny new brass kettles, which were more durable. However, a closer look at the seventeenth century villages of the Illinois reveals that for one or two generations, brass kettles and old-style clay pots were used at the same time. The former did not immediately replace the latter. Instead, the end of pottery-making seems to have followed population decline and social disruption. In other words, brass kettles didn’t destroy clay pots; warfare, disease and resettlement did, at least in Illinois. 

European brass kettle.

This brings us back to the tiny sherd found this fall at the fort. It is of native manufacture, but it was not made in Illinois. It was made in the southern Mississippi Valley, probably by the Natchez. There are references in the historical record to “Indian pots full of oil” brought up from the southern part of the valley, where indigenous pottery traditions were still alive and well during the eighteenth century – and where French brass kettles were also in use. 

Eighteenth century Natchez bowl.

This little vessel would not have been big enough to use to ship bear’s oil upriver, however. It was probably a little bowl or small bottle, decorated in a pattern of incised lines. It probably came to Illinois as part of someone’s personal possessions. It was also one of the last pieces of traditional pottery in use in the central Mississippi River valley, where Native American ceramics had been made for over 2000 years prior to the arrival of the French.

Such artifacts can be the tips of enormous historical icebergs….

Importers' Marks from St. Louis

Keeping on the St. Louis theme for a bit…

I’m working on a study of pre-Civil War artifacts recovered during the 1990s from several downtown neighborhoods. On this post, I thought I’d show some rather rare “importers’ marks” found on ironstone (and whiteware) plates dating to the 1840s and 1850s.

Large scale American wholesalers of British “Queenswares” (the generic term for refined British earthenwares from pottery centers such as Staffordshire) often created direct relationships with the manufacturers of the table and teawares sold in their stores. In some cases, the names of these American merchants were printed directly on the pottery (alongside the makers’ names). A number of St Louis wholesalers (dating as early as the late 1820s) had such relationships with British potters, and some of their names are marked on pottery excavated in St Louis and the surrounding communities.

Here’s a sampling of St Louis makers’ marks. These are pretty rare – they appear on fewer than 5% of the marked specimens that we recover archaeologically. Besides providing a glimpse into the nature of the international trade in mass-produced goods during the mid 19^th century, these artifacts also serve to illustrate the very important role St Louis played in shaping the material landscape of the Midwest before the Civil War. A very large percentage of the pre –1860 material culture that is excavated across Missouri, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota (as well as further up the Missouri River) began its journey in a warehouse in downtown St Louis.

A colleague of mine is preparing an overview of St Louis importers, so stay tuned….

Early French Ceramics 1

This is probably one of the earliest pieces of French pottery from documented contexts in Illinois. It was found during the 1950s atop Starved Rock, site of La Salle’s 1682/83 Fort St. Louis. The top of the rock, however, was also the site of a significant Peoria Indian occupation during the first decades of the eighteenth century. It is unknown which component this artifact was affiliated with, but in either case, it was probably in the ground before ca. 1720.

The artifact is a fragment of a distinctive green glazed jug (made in western France) known as “Saintonge”, from the region where such pots were produced. Potters there made these lead glazed jugs for centuries, and they were exported across western Europe, as well as the French colonies. Pictured is a non-archaeological example of a similar jug, made around 1800.

European Apothecary Pots

During our recent excavations at the third “wooden version” of Fort de Chartres (see 2/29/2012 post), we recovered a large fragment of an unusual form of salve or unguent pot. These little pots contained various types of viscous substances, usually medicinal salves, or in some cases, certain kinds of cosmetics.

Most 18^th century French colonial sites in the Illinois Country produce fragments of apothecary / pharmacy pots, but they are different than the pot found at Fort de Chartres. More common are tin glazed varieties made in France. Thus far, sites in Illinois have generally produced only small fragments of the French unguent pots, but they seem to have been short, slightly ovoid, shouldered vessels.

Fragments of 18th century apothecary pots from Cahokia, Illinois.

The pot found at the fort (from 1740s or early 1750s contexts) is a distinctive type made in the Netherlands, rather than the typical French variety. It is nearly identical to pots frequently recovered in Amsterdam from 17^th and 18^th century contexts. I believe it is the first of its kind found in Illinois, however.

Two Dutch pots:
 The Fort de Chartres specimen (left), and an example excavated in Amsterdam (right).

Sometime after 1800, French unguent or salve pots became very popular, and are frequently found in 1830s-1850s contexts in St. Louis. These pots were of a different shape than their 18^th century predecessors, with straight sides, small flaring lips, and no shoulders. They were generally coated in a bright green or bright blue tin glazes, while the 18^th century varieties may have been more often glazed in plain white.

Two French, tin glazed pots from 1840s contexts in St. Louis. 

Like many old European ceramic traditions, the French and Dutch unguent pots were replaced in the international market by British whiteware pots during the mid 19^th century.

Queenswares in St Louis Before the War of 1812

Back in 2002, the Sangamo Archaeological Center published a small summary of newspaper ads from St. Louis that advertised pottery between 1810 and 1850. I’m currently working on a paper with a colleague about ceramic use during the  American occupation of Fort Massac (1794 to 1814), and was looking at some of the War of 1812-era advertisements.

This is the earliest ad I have found for British refined ceramics in the region. It dates to January of 1809. The firm of H. Austin & Company (actually located in the old French town Ste. Genevieve, south of St. Louis) announced the arrival of a shipment of groceries and dry goods from New York, which included a “General assortment of Queens Pencil’d and Enamel’d Ware.” The reference to ceramic products was placed at the bottom of an ad focused primarily on fabrics and clothing.

 “Queensware” was a term coined by Josiah Wedgwood to refer to his creamware product lines of the 1760s and 1770s, the term was eventually used generically by potters and merchants to refer to most inexpensive British earthenwares, including post-1780 pearlware and post-1830 whiteware.

Example of painted pearlware teacup and saucer, circa 1790-1810

 “Pencilled Queens [ware]” probably referred to transfer printed pearlware or creamware, while “enameled” wares would have consisted of painted pearlware or creamware. This was fancy, fashionable stuff – fresh from the potteries at Staffordshire. And it was shipped into town by the crate when the population of St. Louis was still fewer than 400.