Describing and Attributing Early Oyster Jars

Summary

This is a poster submission presented at the 2020 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Oyster jars represent a unique form of ceramic storage vessel that was commonly used in Manhattan to store and transport oysters during the late 18th and early 19th century. In 2018 I initiated a study to better understand this form and attempt to attribute extant jars to specific potters or potteries. The basis of the study was a detailed analysis of physical characteristics for all oyster jars that could be accessed in public and private collections. Data collection began with one group of marked and attributed jars and then extended out to groups of unattributed examples. In addition to various descriptive metrics, source material including shipping records and newspaper advertisements were used to understand how the jars were sold and distributed. As part of my work, I am proposing a new set of terms to precisely describe the great variation in oyster jar openings.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2020   •
• 2020 SHA Poster Submissions

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Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 639