Wash Basin- Quebec, Canada

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Institution: Archeolab Quebec

Province: Quebec

Object: Bowl

Era: 17th Century

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In the 1990's, archaeologists unearthed artifacts from the Le Ber House, part of the Place-Royale in Quebec City. The Place-Royal was a trading hub that grew to prominence during the establishment of New France. The Le Ber House may have belonged to Jacques Le Ber, a trader in fur, fisheries and slaves during the mid to late 17th century.

Various ceramic materials were recovered including imported terracotta, porcelain and earthenwares. Over three hundred of these wares came directly from France, including the wash basin seen above. The basin is an example of “a compendiario”- a 17th-century decorative style featured on French, Spanish and Italian tin-glazed wares (also known as faience or majolica).

The bowl's motif features blue wingdings or the "Nevers Scroll" as well as orange flowers and hearts. The design is an imitation of Chinese porcelain Potters in France and Holland revived the style and continued to produce it through the end 17th century.

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Sources:

• Waselkov, Gregory A., and John A. Walthall. "Faience styles in French colonial North America: a revised classification." Historical Archaeology 36.1 (2002): 62-78.

• Métreau, Laetitia, et al. "Pour une typologie stylistique chrono-thématique des faïences françaises retrouvées dans les anciennes colonies d’Amérique (XVII e–XVIII e s.)." Canadian Journal of Archaeology 40.2 (2016).

• Métreau, Laetitia, and Jean Rosen. "Origin and Development of French Faience: The Contribution of Archaeology and the Physical Sciences." Technical Briefs In Historical Archaeology 8 (2014): 1-21.

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