Description:
English delft ointment pot fragment decorated with a pale blue glaze. This fragment consists of two smaller fragments glued across the lower side. The fragment, marked 'ER102X', is the larger of the two more complete ointment pot fragments in this group found in Dr. Thomas Williams house privy pit at the rear of the house (Deerfield, lot No. 9) during an archeological dig in 1976, which was filled with American redwares, English slipwares, stonewares, delftwares, German stonewares, and Chinese export porcelains. Dr. Williams (1718-1775) settled in Deerfield in 1739, where he became its second physician and married Anna Childs (1723-1746), daughter of Timothy Childs, in 1744, the year he bought the house from Daniel Belding. Ointment pots, which varied in size and shape, dispensed sticky or semi-liquid preparations sold by apothecaries, grocers, perfumers, etc., who often had their names and sometimes addresses inscribed on them when they ordered them in quantity from delftware factories. These pots are normally bowl-shaped with an everted rim, which could be covered with parchment secured with a string tied around the indentation below the rim. Around 1800, these delft pots were replaced with glass containers, cardboard-lined boxes, and chip boxes made of handcut wood shavings.
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