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On display

This item is on display at Melbourne Museum

Summary:: This cup has been reconstructed from a group of 27 fragments made up of both cups and saucers. These fragments were excavated at one of the digs at the Commonwealth Block site between 1988 and 2003. The design is known as 'Castle'. Although there is a maker's mark, the manufacturer is unknown. It is possibly a 'second' as the pattern is poorly applied.

Homewares.
Numerous crockery pieces were found all over the Little Lon site. Crockery gives us a glimpse of everyday life in Melbourne in the 1880s. In the houses around Little Lon, residents used decorated crockery. Most pieces were cheap earthenware or stoneware, yet provided colour and cheer. Only a few could afford to buy matching sets, and most china was probably acquired second-hand. Some were once expensive pieces. Householders mixed and matched their crockery from the great range of mass-produced designs available. 'Blue and white' and the 'willow' pattern, was the most popular choice and was produced by English potteries from 1790.
Description:: Cup
Description for Parent:
Ceramic fragments - white-bodied stoneware: 2 bowls (fragmented) 3 cups (two nearly complete). 27 pieces in total. Blue on white transfer printed stoneware. Border is blue on white lace diamonds with dots in centre. River scene with castle in background on inside of both saucer and cup bases. No maker identified: maker's mark consists of numbers. Design name: 'Castle'.
A second of some kind: pattern poorly applied.

Discipline:	Archaeology - Historical
Dimension Comment:	cup and saucer together; Width = Diameter

Themes this item is part of:	Little Lon, Little Lon Collection
On Display at:	Melbourne Museum
Primary Classification:	HISTORICAL ARCHAEOLOGY
Activity:	Domestic
Trench Unit Number:	02/22/09