Plate
Dateca. 1800
MediumLead-glazed earthenware (china glaze / pearlware)
DimensionsOverall: 1 × 9 7/8 in (2.54 × 25.08cm)
Credit LineGift of James S. Lawrence
Object number2025-70
DescriptionPlate: circular plate with molded shell edge border. The edge painted blue; the well of the plate painted in orange, blue, green, and brown with a stylized house between stylized plants and trees. The reverse impressed with a small star-shaped mark in the center.Label TextFragments of blue and green molded shell-edged plates with stylized house patterns such as the one on this plate have been uncovered at archaeological sites in Alexandria, Virginia. Shell-edge plates painted in a variety of colors turn up archaeologically at numerous sites in late-18th and early 19th century America. Often identified by their color and “edge” or “edged,” molded shell-edged wares were advertised in period newspapers and listed in inventories, as well.
