Description:
Free wheel-thrown in two parts and joined together at the point of greatest girth. Large red earthenware storage vessel for olive oil of baluster form, wider at the shoulder than at the base, having two handles at shoulder level, stamped with "GC" in a circle under each handle; according to the donors it was found in an antique shop in Maine. According to Ronald Coleman (former Curator of Maritime History and Archaeology at the Queensland Museum in Brisbane), who catalogued examples of Italian olive oil jars at Colonial Williamsburg, the GC stamp is the most common of over 50 merchant's stamps that he has recorded. Dozens are found in Jamaica and the stamp also turns up in the United Kingdom. It appears on half and full-sized as well as ribbed jars. A partial jar was excavated at Colchester, England, but the deposit dating is a bit iffy. The problem with terrestrial site material is that jars had such an extended life in secondary usages. Although the use of fragile earthenware to ship and store oil presented issues of durability, the viscous olive oil did not penetrate into oak casks to any depth and therefore did not cause the wood to swell - the casks leaked and did not keep the oil fresh. Also oak gave the olive oil a disagreeable flavor.
Subjects:
Pottery; glaze (coating by location) Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+86.102 |
