Wow!  Does subscribing to a list ever widen one's horizons.  All these years
(about 20 since I started doing historical archaeology), I though I knew what
whiteware was.  Or are there regional differences I wasn't aware of?  I'm not
even familiar with most of the references cited yesterday.
 
Anyway, just to confuse things, here are some of the relevant definitions I
have been working with.  They are based on Ivor Noel Hume (Artifacts of
Colonial America), Stanley South (Method and Theory in Historical
Archeology), and George Miller (1980 Historical Archaeology article).
 
creamware (1760's to early 19th C.):  yellow-tinted clear glaze on a cream to
white earthenware body, ranges from deeper yellow early in the sequence to
lighter yellow late in the sequence;  grades into what Miller calls cc.
 
pearlware (1760's to early 19th C.):  blue-tinted clear glaze on a white
earthenware body, especially noticeable in corners of footring or handles;
may be nearly indistinguishable from what I call whiteware, unless placed on
a piece of white paper for comparison.
 
handpainted polychrome pearlware:  handpainted polychrome designs on a white
earthenware body under a blue-tinted glaze;  brush strokes are obvious;  I am
under the impression that this is what antique dealers call Gaudy Dutch.
 
whiteware (1820's to present):  clear glaze on a white earthenware body;  may
be distinguished from white ironstone by using the "tongue test"--whiteware
sticks, ironstone doesn't;  this, however, is a morphological dintinction,
not a cultural one--some vessels marked ironstone may test as whiteware.
 
minimally decorated whiteware (19th C.):  small floral designs on a white
earthenware body under a clear glaze;  the designs appear to be stamped on
rather than painted--no brush strokes are visible;  more stylized, less
exuberant than handpainted pearlware.
 
majolica:  Spanish or Spanish-American tin-enamelled earthenware.
 
By the way, I am a recent subscriber to the list, and can be reached directly
at <[log in to unmask]>.