Abstracts
A post-medieval pottery production site at Elphinstone, Airth, Stirlingshire
Sue Anderson
Limited fieldwork was carried out in 2008 and 2009 on the site of the 19th-century Dunmore Pottery in Airth. A pit containing wasters and kiln material from an earlier 18th-century production site was identified as part of the broader industry based around Throsk, Stirlingshire. The range of vessels from the Dunmore site is described and the production site placed in context within the industry.
Vessels used for shipping goods in the Western Mediterranean during the late Middle Ages and early Modern periods
Marta Carascio
This paper discusses the production and circulation of vessels used for storing and shipping goods in the Western Mediterranean during the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. As within this area a considerable number of different types of storage vessels has been used for filling vaults, they can be dated with a high degree of precision. For this reason I will discuss the importance of these objects in dating archaeological records, with an eye on their functional aspects and comparing archaeological evidence and documentary sources. The analysis of forms, bodies and marks makes it possible to understand where these objects were made. This data can be used to reconstruct the circulation and trade not only of these vessels, but also of the goods that were shipped inside them.
Cobalt Blue in Medieval Ceramic Production in the Valencian Workshops: Manises, Paterna and Valencia (Spain).
Jaume Coll Conesa
The first documentary mention of cobalt use in the medieval kingdom of Valencia dates as far back as 1333. Before that, there is no evidence for the use of safra or cobalt pigment. The first cobalt was used in production of lustre-ware, proving the improvements in the manufacture of wares with tin-glaze earthenware decoration during the first half of the fourteenth century. X Ray fluorescence analysis suggests a variation in the detected spectrum of blue pigment through the years, this fact when considered with shape, draw and decorative evolution allows us to propose a very close dating for some decorative groups produced in Manises and Paterna and that is the main target of this paper.
Mediterranean and Ligurian ceramics in Genoa: XII and XIII centuries. New data from the excavation of the Embriaci Tower
Fabrizio Benente
Archaeological excavations performed by the Soprintendenza per i Beni Archeologici della Liguria, between 2000 and 2004 in the area of Santa Maria delle Grazie La Nuova have yielded new data concerning the settlement in the “Collina di Castello†from the Iron Age to Modern age. Specifically, and concerning the middle ages, the discovery of the structures of the curia Embriacorum (the urban settlement of the Embriaci family) and the investigation of the filling layers of the base of a square tower dating back to the first half of the twelfth century has provided new information on the circulation of Mediterranean and Ligurian ceramics in Genoa between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
Faith Made Manifest: An Interpretation of the Decoration on Cistercian Wares.
Janet Spavold
The Cistercian ware discussed here is mainly from Ticknall, Derbyshire. Other sites are included where appropriate. A few decorative motifs on Cistercian ware have already been noted: ‘ihs’ and ‘cartwheel’ stamps for instance. A more comprehensive scheme is proposed here, where the motifs are grouped by themes. Each is then analysed in the context of late medieval religious belief and practice. The motifs are linked to similar examples from church architecture, stained glass, wall paintings and other contemporary sources. Biblical quotations explain the origins of some motifs. Traditional and original designs from Ticknall are discussed. The significance of the decorative motifs in the abrupt ending of Cistercian production is considered and set against historical events. This study follows on from the research published in Spavold, J. and Brown, S. 2005, Ticknall Pots and Potters from the Late Fifteenth Century to 1888.