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Bottle, "G:Burwell/Edw. Atthaws/1755"

Date1755

OriginEngland, London, Lambeth

MediumStoneware, salt-glazed, brown

DimensionsOverall: 8 5/8 x 5 1/4 x 5 5/16in. (21.9 x 13.3 x 13.5cm)

Credit LineGift in memory of Joseph Porter Moore by his wife, Adelia Peebles Moore

Object number1976-128

DescriptionBottle, saltglazed stoneware bottle. Typical form of globular stoneware jug with moderate sized neck having a molded collar and no footring. The upper third of the bottle is of a reddish color, while the rest of it is brown. On the body is an applied inscription saying: "G:Burwell/Edwd:Atthaws/1755"
Label TextExcavations at Carter’s Grove, a large plantation located on the northern bank of the James River in Virginia, yielded fragments of two exceptionally rare ale bottles bearing applied plaques with the date 1755 and the names “G: Burwell” and “Edwd: Atthaws.” This intact example (acc. no. 1976-128) was given to the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation in 1976 by a descendant of its original owner. Carter Burwell, grandson of Robert “King” Carter, one of the wealthiest men in the colonies, finished building his brick mansion at Carter’s Grove in 1755. The letter “G” on the shards and the extant bottle was, no doubt, erroneously used in place of a “C” for Burwell’s given name. Edward Atthaws (also spelled Atthawes or Athawes) was a well-connected factor, or broker, for many prominent Virginia tobacco planters, including members of the Carter family and Carter Burwell. Atthaws can also be linked to a London stoneware pottery, for he witnessed the will of potter William Sanders of Mortlake, who, in turn, bequeathed money to Edward’s son, Samuel. Such evidence suggests the Sanders Pottery in Mortlake might have been the source of the Burwell bottles.
InscribedInscribed "G:Burwell/Edw. Atthaws/1755"
ProvenanceMrs. Adelia Peebles Moore, Williamsburg, VA
Belonged to Carter Burwell of Carter's Grove.

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