Ming Porcelain from the 1607 to ca. 1624 James Fort, Jamestown, Virginia

Summary

This is an abstract from the session entitled "Opening the Vault: What Collections Can Say About Jamestown’s Global Trade Network", at the 2023 annual meeting of the Society for Historical Archaeology.

Founded by the English Company in 1607, James Fort was Virginia's first and, for over a decade, England's primary settlement in the New World. The fort was situated in an unfamiliar wilderness and separated from the homeland by an ocean. However, ceramics from all over the world supplied the colony's ceramic needs. Chinese porcelain is notably superior to all recovered ceramic types because of its thinness, durability, translucence, and beauty. It signified its owners's privilege and social rank in the often hostile and harsh New World environment. Moreover, its presence at James Fort is evidence of England's global connectedness in the early modern era. This paper will present the results of a recent analysis of at least 75 porcelain vessels that were used, broken, and discarded during the fort's short, 17-year existence.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2023   •
• Opening the Vault: What Collections Can Say About Jamestown’s Global Trade Network

Keywords

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Nicole Haddow