Exchanging Medieval Material Culture Studies on archaeology and ...

were used for displaying or serving food, just like decorated
plates/dishes.
Th e 16th-century plates/dishes of red- and whiteware with a
footring diff er in shape from maiolica plates. Th ese diff erences
may be attributable to technical aspects, or to a diff erence
in function. Th ere are two types of maiolica plates. One
type has a slightly sloping wall with a short fl at edge and a
raised lip. Th is type was derived from plates of the Italian tradition
that were exported to Flanders and underwent further
development in the northern Netherlands. It was fi rst produced
in Haarlem. Th e decorations on these plates sometimes
also betray infl uences from this Italian tradition. Th is type is
represented only in maiolica; no later versions are known.
Some plates of this type have a lead pin at the centre. Th ey
feature in many Dutch still lifes as butter plates. Being very
colourful, they were also used for serving food. Another type
that is only represented in maiolica and comparable Italian
wares is a plate with a sloping wall and a broad edge adorned
with raised studs and sometimes a serrated rim. Th ey were
produced using a mould – a technique that was likewise borrowed
from the Italian tradition. Th is type, which is very rare,
was also used for serving food.
Th e medium-sized plates with a sloping wall with or without a
lip, with a fl at or slightly convex edge, produced with or without
a mould were based on types of the porcelain tradition.
Th ey continued to be produced in the Kangxi and later periods.
Th e porcelain plates of this type all have a foliated rim.
Th ey are also represented in other industrial wares. Th e plates
with a sloping wall may be imitations of a similar type made of
red- and whitewares. Th e pronounced transition to a broad
edge was the outcome of a technical innovation that was fi rst
15 Clevis 2007.
New Style Classification System 37
Fig. 7 Saucer with Dressadent decor, English industrial ware, from
Zwolle Kranenburg. Fig. 8 Saucer with Orangistic decor, Faience, from Zwolle
Werkeren.
used in the production of red- and whiteware in the 16th century.
Th e bases of the vessels concerned were trimmed to make
the vessels less heavy. Th is led to the observed marked transition
to a broad edge.
In the case of the maiolica plates, part of the base was
trimmed on the potter’s wheel aft er the plate had been turned
upside down and placed on a support; this led to a pronounced
transition between the base and the rest of the body.
Next, the inside of this base was scraped out to create a footring.
Bruijn describes this process in relation to his research
into misfi red objects from a Deventer maiolica kiln (fi g. 11).
We have examined a large group of maiolica plates and have
come to the conclusion that Bruijn’s description is correct15.
Whenever we mention a sharp transition in the body of a
plate in descriptions we are always referring to the outside of
the vessel. But a plate may also show a sharp transition on the
inside, which need not necessary coincide with the transition
visible on the outside.
Th e maiolica footring stands at the beginning of a new tradition
in local wares, which was derived from the Italian tradition
and was continued in red- and whitewares. Footrings of
faience, industrial stoneware and whitewares are based on the
Chinese porcelain tradition. Th ere are however also faience
and industrial white plates without a footring, and even plates
of whitewares without a footring. Th is suggests that they are
imitations of wooden (teljoren) and tin forerunners. Th ey
invariably have a diameter of between 20 and 22 cm. Plates of
this kind are at present referred to as breakfast plates or
dishes. Consumption patterns changed substantially in the
17th century and the ceramic industry played an important
role in the changes. It was actually a matter of interaction.