Ceramics

Colonial Williamsburg’s ceramics collection encompass over 10,000 objects ranging in date from the 17th century through the 1830s, with a particular focus on wares made between 1740 and 1780. The majority of objects reflect the wares that were made in or imported to America during the colonial and early national periods. The Foundation’s historic buildings are furnished with earthenwares, stonewares, and porcelains that in many cases are exact matches to fragments found archaeologically at each site. At the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum, those pieces are placed in a larger context, showcasing vessels that may never have been in colonial America, but played an important role in shaping the taste and choices of colonists.

The Foundation’s assemblage of British ceramics, one of the best in the nation, is particularly strong in slipware, delft (tin-glazed earthenware), salt-glazed stoneware, and Chelsea porcelain. Additional highlights include one of the largest assemblages of German stoneware in America; American-made earthenware and stoneware, including many examples by southern potters; and a growing group of Chinese export porcelain of the type owned in pre-Revolutionary America.

The Foundation continues the tradition of American craft and folk art at the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum. Ceramics displayed there were all produced in America between the 18th century and the present. Of note are wares made by potters who embellished their work with evocative, whimsical patterns. Special focus has been placed on potters working in the American South, including Henry Lowndes, members of the Bell family, Collin Rhodes, David Drake, Mark Baynham, Georgia Blizzard, Burlon Craig, and Billy Ray Hussey.