(Above) Tin-glazed bowls found at Borough Market
The Museum of London has unveiled its latest archaeological treasures - a trio of exquisite Tin Ware ceramic bowls recently found beneath the streets of Borough Market.
The new additions to the Museum's emotively titled War, Plague and Fire gallery were excavated from a Network Rail archaeological site during the building of a new rail bridge next to an existing Victorian structure. Together they offer a picture of what may have been displayed on a dresser in a London home during the 17th century.
A conservator holds one of the tin ware bowls
A Tulip Charger' bowl dates to the 1660s - the decade of the Great Fire, a "Dutch-style boy and the dog bowl" dates from the same time and a bowl with the coat of arms of the Leather Sellers Company dated 1674, celebrates the marriage of Nathaniel Townsend, who was admitted to the company in 1673.
"They are beautiful objects: truly unique and unusual finds," said the Museum's Head of Archaeological Collections Roy Stephenson. "What's really interesting about them is that we now have a group of objects that offer an astonishing snapshot of a Londoner’s life at this point in history."
The Museum's Head of Archaeological Collections Roy Stephenson said the finds were "truly unique and unusual"
Towards the end of the 17th century London was the first major city to produce tin-glazed ware successfully and on a commercial scale. The chief attraction of tin-glazing is in allowing potters to decorate their wares with coloured pigments applied over a lead glaze made opaque by the addition of tin.
Much of the tin glazed ware was made in Southwark at the start of the 17th century at pothouses in Rotherhithe, Horsley Down, and Abbots Lane, and at Montague Close just against the North Side of Southwark Cathedral, where these three bowls were unearthed.
Images © Museum of London
