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Date: | Thu, 28 Jan 2010 13:19:16 -0500 |
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*Ceramics in America 2009* is now available from the University
Press of New England, however, it can be purchased from Amazon.com at a
lower price. This issue is edited by Robert Hunter and Luke Beckerdite and
is focused on the Moravian potters of North Carolina, potters that came from
a German tradition and the wares of John Bartlam at Cain Hoy. These
articles have wonderful color pictures of wasters from a number of sites
along with picture of vessels that have survived the ravages of time. These
potters were producing slip decorated wares in a German tradition, but also
made attempts to produce wares in an English tradition by bringing in the
English potters William Ellis and John Bartlam to work with them. The
history of the Moravian potters are richly recorded and preserved in the
minutes kept by the Moravian community when changes in production were
planned and the hiring of none members of the community such as the English
potters Ellis and Bartlam. Some of you may remember Stanley South’s
excavation of one of the Moravian potteries in Bethabara back in the 1960s.
He later excavated some wasters from John Bartlam’s pottery near Cain Hoy.
Rob Hunter has revisited the interpretation of some of the assemblages from
the Bethabara excavations and has illustrated the English style wares that
William Ellis was producing there. Lisa Hudgins has provided a good
description of the wares that were excavated at Cain Hoy. Both of these
articles show that good quality English style creamware and mottled glaze
wares were produced in the mid-eighteenth century, but the effort to sustain
their production failed. These wares are only known because of the
excavated wasters. *Ceramics in America 2009* has a rich collection of
color plates of the slipwares produced in the Moravian potteries. In
addition there are two articles on how the wares were made. One by Rob
Hunter and Michelle Erickson illustrates the making of a Moravian ring
bottle. The other article by Erickson, Hunter and Caroline Hannah provides
a detailed illustration on the making of a set of molds to produce a press
molded squirrel bottle. Alain Outlaw provides an article on the excavation
of the Mount Shepherd Pottery site in Randolph County that was operated by a
Moravian potter who was forced out of Bethabara. Luke Beckerdite and
Johanna Brown provide an excellent overview of the 18th century North
Carolina Moravian pottery tradition. The *Ceramics in America 2009 *volume
would make a good addition to anyone’s library, as it is a nice mix of
documentation, archaeology and surviving examples, all very well illustrated
by the wonderful photography of Gavin Ashworth. The book is hardbound, has
232 pages and numerous color plates.
Peace,
George L. Miller
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