2 CM. 

 "^ I IN. 



Figure 24. — Gravel-tempered pan sherds from 

 Kecoughtan site, Hampton, Virginia. United 

 States National Museum. 



characteristics of color and fracture, while the firing 

 has left the same tell-tale gray core found in a large 

 proportion of North Devon sherds. Surface treatment 

 techniques match those reflected in the typical dish 

 .sherds — glazed slip over the red paste on the interior; 

 unglazed, scraped, and abraided surfaces on the 

 underside. The yellow color is paler and the glazed 

 surface is duller. The rim has a smaller edge and 

 omits the heavy raised bezel usually occurring on the 

 typical plates and chargers. The design motifs — 

 crude and primitive in comparison with those de- 

 scribed above — consist of a series of stripes on the 

 rim, drawn at right angles to the edge with a four- 

 pointed tool, and crude hook-like ornaments traced 

 with the same tool in the bowl of the plate. This 

 may be regarded as a forerunner of the developed 

 sgraffito ware made in the second half of the 17th 

 century. 



Uniq^ue Fe.'^ture 



The flat rim of a chamber pot from Jamestown 

 (fig. 15) has "\VR 16 . . " scratched through the 

 slip. It is probable that the initials indicate "William 

 Rex," for William III, who became king in 1688. 

 Why the king should be memorialized in such an un- 

 dignified fashion could be explained by the fact that 

 Barnstaple and Bideford were strongly Puritan and 

 also Huguenot centers. Although William was a 

 popular monarch, he was, ne\ertheless, head of the 

 Church of England, and an anti-royalist, Calvinist 

 potter might well have expressed an earthy contempt 

 in this way. Later, in the 18th century, George III 

 appears to have been treated with similar disrespect 

 by Staffordshire potters, who made saltglazed chamber 

 pots in the style of Rhenish Westerwald drinking jugs, 

 flaunting "GR" emblems on the sides. Owners' 

 initials or names do not occur on any of the North 

 Devon wares found in American sites, nor do the 

 initials of the potters. Otherwise, it would seem un- 

 likely that the only exception would appear on the 

 rim of a chamber pot. 



44 



BULLETIN 225: CONTRIBUTIONS FROM THE MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY 



