• variety of paste colors (white, buff, orange, yellow, red, gray, pink)
• porous paste - broken edge of sherd sticks to tongue
• paste can appear grainy and, in coarse earthenware, may have inclusions of gravel or be formed from two different colors of clay

• variety of paste colors (white, buff, yellow, red, gray)
• hard and compact paste - broken edge does not stick to tongue
• paste texture smooth to grainy
• some stoneware will have a dimpled “orange peel” surface

• white to grayish white paste
• smooth, vitrified (glassy) look to broken edge; does not stick to tongue
• thinner sherds may be translucent when held to light

• thick glaze (usually white) “floats” on surface of sherd
• glaze often absent in places or easily flaked from ceramic body
• generally used on ceramics with low-fired paste that sticks very readily to tongue
• paste generally buff/pale yellow, but also pink and red

• shiny, often transparent
• can be on interior and/or exterior of vessel
• generally colorless on refined earthenware, but can have metallic oxides added to create colored glazes, most generally on coarse earthenware

• interior and exterior surfaces of vessel, as well as broken edges, are porous and stick to tongue

• dimpled “orange peel” surface on interior and/or exterior
• decorations can include painting, incising, sprig molding, engine turning

• fine grained and non-porous; vessel surface often dull or flat in tone
• decorations can include sprig molding, engine turning, enamel painting

ENGLISH DRY BODIED STONEWARE

• very thin layer of shiny, smooth glaze; thinness of glaze accentuates molded decorative details
• decorations can include overall molding, sometimes in deep relief, and sprig molding

RELIEF MOLDED STONEWARE

WHITE FELSPATHIC STONEWARE

• smooth, white opaque glaze
• often seen on buff bodied stoneware; often used in conjunction with Albany-type slip
• sometimes used in conjunction with sponged or stamped decoration in blue or other colors

• thick, runny, lustrous, transparent glassy glaze
• wide variations in color (olive, black, brown, green, yellowish)
• runs and streaks typical; often include bits of sand or rock

• shiny brown (most often chocolate colored) layer over stoneware body; smooth, untextured and opaque (Greer 1981:200)
• sometimes used on interior of a vessel whose exterior is salt glazed

• highly vitrified white to off-white paste
• paste impervious to staining
• under short and mid-range ultraviolet light, the glazed surface of hard paste porcelain appears magenta or dark purple

• dense and ‘chalky’ paste slightly more porous and softer than hard paste; paste often has a greyish hue, sometimes with surface black specks
• can become discolored or stained
• paste scratches easily with a steel file
• glazed surface fluoresces a dull pink to grayish purple under shortwave and mid-range ultraviolet light

• paste may appear dense and finely-grained
• sherd surfaces and cracks more likely than hard paste to exhibit brown staining
• early pieces, may have small black flecks in the paste
• under short and mid-range ultraviolet light, glazed surface appears blueish white

AGATEWARE

• variegated paste created by mixing two or more different color clays, typically red and yellow
• vessel walls generally thin in cross section

ASTBURY

• thinly potted earthenware with a dense, dull-red body and a ginger colored lead glaze

JACKFIELD-TYPE

• thin purplish to gray body covered with a lustrous black glaze

CREAMWARE

• thinly-potted, cream-colored body with a clear lead glaze
• glaze pools yellow in foot rings
• glazed surface appears yellow or cream colored when held against white paper

TORTOISESHELL

• thinly-potted, cream-colored body with sponged decoration in combinations of green, brown, purple and yellow

GREEN GLAZED

• thinly-potted, cream-colored body with green translucent lead glazed surface

PEARLWARE

(note: see decoration as a way to date these vessels)

• thinly-potted white body with clear lead glaze
• glazed surface appears blueish when held against white paper
• glaze pools blue in foot rings
• note: some mid-19th century refined white earthenware and white granite sherds will also have a blue cast to the glaze and blue pooling in foot rings
• variety of decorations used - edged, painted, printed, dipped

WHITEWARE

(note: see decoration as a way to date these vessels)

• thinly-potted white body with clear lead glaze
• glazed surface appears white when held against white paper
• variety of decorations used – painted, dipped, printed, edged, sponged, decal

WHITE GRANITE

(note: see decoration as a way to date these vessels)

• paste of some wares have a light gray/blue tint; others more white
• molded motifs usually only form of decoration
• glazed surface often has blue or grayish hue
• crazing of glaze common
• thicker vessel walls compared withsssslier refined earthenware

MANGANESE MOTTLED

• buff-bodied, covered by a yellowish glaze mottled with dark streaks/speckles

NORTH MIDLANDS-TYPE

• buff-bodied, coated with white and dark slips, with trailed, combed, or marbled designs; the white slip, which usually forms the background for the dark slip decoration, appears yellow through the clear lead
glaze

YELLOW WARE

• very pale buff to dark golden
• decorations can include banding in blue, white, brown and pink slips or fernlike
• mocha motifs
• usually in hollow forms only

ROCKINGHAM

• a buff to yellow paste and a brown mottled and streaked glaze, often characterized by patches of the vessel’s body showing through
• molded decorations common

BORDER WARE

• light reddish paste, sometimes streaked with white/gray clay
• generally glazed only on the interior surfaces

BLACK GLAZED RED EARTHENWARE

• red paste
• black lead glaze

NORTH DEVON<

• pink or reddish to orange colored paste with a gray core
• coarse, angular gravel sometimes included in paste
• thin lead glaze ranging in color from yellow to green to light brown
• often only glazed on interior of vessel

NORTH DEVON SGRAFFITO

• reddish pink to orange paste that can have a gray core
• incised slip decoration of brown motifs on yellow background

BORDER WARE

• fine-grained paste in a range of colors: pale gray, yellow to pinkish buff or very pale brown
• glaze colors include yellow, apple green, olive green and brown
• generally glazed only on the interior surfaces

NORTH DEVON

• pink or reddish to orange colored paste with a gray core

NORTH DEVON SGRAFFITO

• hard brick-red to purplish paste that combines red and yellowish clays

BUCKLEY

• vessel walls usually thick, often with ribbed exteriors
• generally glazed with a thick black lead glaze

• light to dark gray paste
• vessel interior surface is often a different color than its exterior
• decorations include blue and purple painting, sprig molding, incising, cordoning

• often gray paste, but also buff, whitish, black, salmon or reddish brown
• decorations include blue painting and stamping

• brown to gray pastes that are coarser in texture than Rhenish blue and gray
• brown to gray pastes that are coarser in texture than Rhenish blue and gray
• vessel interior surface is often a different color than its exterior
• brown slip added to the surface before firing

• grainy paste that is gray in color
• dark flecks of hematite characteristic in paste
• brown slip added to the surface before firing

• off-white or very light gray paste
• no painting on vessel surface
• decorations include sprig molding, cordoning and incising

• homogenous, fine-textured non-porous paste that ranges in color from pale gray to tan to white
• as typical of refined stoneware, the vessels are generally thin in cross-section
• decorations include incising, sprig molding, painting, rouletting or printing

• homogenous paste with no visible inclusions that ranges in color from light to dark gray; buff to deep orange occasionally present
• as typical of refined stoneware, the vessels are generally thin in cross-section
• metallic glaze, sometimes underlain by white slip

• gray-blueish surface cast on blue painted pieces; more white on overglaze decorated pieces
• glaze absent on foot rings
• blue underglaze painting – never printed
• overglaze painting in reds, greens, black (less often yellows, pinks)

• white vessel surface color
• highly translucent
• decoration includes overglaze printing in blue, red and black; painting to highlight printed designs; use of stenciled designs

• white vessel surface color
• highly translucent
• glaze absent on foot rings
• printed and painted decorations, as well as multi-color decals