How To Identify Colonial Ceramics

How to tell porcelain figurines from ceramic.

How to identify colonial ceramics.

The term ceramic. Marks like the chelsea anchor or the crossed swords of meissen are well known and were often pirated while the significance of others is uncertain. One such mysterious mark is the capital a found on a rare group of 18th century british. Not all pottery used during the colonial period originated in america.

Ceramic objects are often identified by their marks. Items made from porcelain a type of white clay with kaolin as its main ingredient belong to the broader field of all ceramics. Germans influenced pottery in the northern states. How to identify colonial era pottery.

Without kilns that could produce high firing temperatures they typically produced earthenware using local clay. This is the most specific of the elements identifying a ceramic type. English africans and germans created pottery in the south. While the british were in control american potters were prohibited from making.