[Illustration:  Late 17th-century Italian maiolica bowls excavated at Jamestown.]

[Illustration:  A few examples of English delftware in the Jamestown collection.]

[Illustration]

Delftware.—­This is a soft pottery covered with an opaque white tin glaze, and decorated with hand-painted designs, usually in blues and purples.  A few specimens excavated are embellished with pleasing patterns in polychrome colors.  Most of the delftware unearthed at Jamestown was made in England (Lambeth, Southwark, and Bristol), although a few examples were imported from Holland.

Spanish Maiolica.—­This maiolica is a tin-glazed earthenware with a soft body usually buff in color and porous in texture.  The colorful decorations were hand painted on the absorbent surface—­usually in greens, blues, yellows, and reddish-browns, against a white background.  Some small Spanish jugs in the collection bear very crude dark-red floral designs painted against a cream-colored background.  A few examples of maiolica found at Jamestown are believed to have been made in Lisbon, and these usually have designs in blues and dark purples against a white background.

Salt-glazed Stoneware.—­This common but attractive type of pottery found in many excavations at Jamestown includes mugs, jars, bottles, tankards, and jugs.  It is a very hard ware which was fired at high temperatures and finished with a salt glaze, formed by throwing common salt into the furnace.  The surface of the body has a pitted appearance resembling an orange peel, and is covered with a thin, glasslike coating.  Most of the salt-glazed stoneware unearthed was made in Germany, although a small amount was manufactured in England.

[Illustration:  Colorful Spanish maiolica found which appear to have been made before 1650.]

[Illustration:  A large German stoneware jug unearthed at Jamestown.  The date “1661” Appears above the medallion.]

[Illustration:  A few examples of German salt-glazed stoneware in the Jamestown collection.  All were made during the 17th century.]

[Illustration:  Reconstructed wineglasses and wineglass fragments in the Jamestown collection.]

[Illustration:  Note the makers’ marks or seals on the wineglass fragments.  Only A few English wineglasses bearing 17th-century makers’ seals have been found in America.]