Cup & saucer

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This hand-made earthenware cup and saucer were made in Barvas, a crofting township on the west coast of the the Isle of Lewis, the northernmost island of the Outer Hebrides. The cup and saucer date from the 1860s.

The pieces have been made with a gritty clay dug from coastal glacial deposits and 'fired' in the peat on the central hearth of a thatched house. They are modelled on contemporary tableware which was becoming available at that time from Clyde and Staffordshire potteries.

For centuries it was the land which supplied the resources of everyday life for most people in Scotland. Earthenware was originally made from local clays and it was not until the middle of the 18th century that domestic pottery began to be mass-produced on an industrial scale.

Record details

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• Online ID: 000-190-002-323-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland
  Project description   View all records in project
• Ref: National Museums Scotland  A.1887.713 A
• Date: 1860 - 1869
  1860 - 1869
  1860s
  
• Material: Earthenware, rude
  Earthenware, rude
  Cup
  Saucer
  
• Dimensions:
• What: Cup
  Saucer
  
• Subject:
• Who:
• Where: Scotland, Ross and Cromarty, Lewis, Barvas
  Scotland, Ross and Cromarty, Lewis, Barvas
  
• Event:
• Description: Cup of rude, handmade pottery, from Barvas, Isle of Lewis, 1860s
  Saucer of rude, handmade pottery, from Barvas, Isle of Lewis, 1860s
  
• References:
  • Cheape, Hugh. 'Crogans and Barvas Ware Pottery in the Islands'. Stornaway Gazette, 22 January 1883, p 2. 
  • Fenton, Alex & Eszter Kisban (eds) Food in Change. Eating Habits from the Middle Ages to the Present Day. Article by Hugh Cheape, 'Pottery and Food Preparation, Storage and Transport in the Scottish Hebrides'. Edinburgh 1986, pp 111-121. 
  • Fenton, Alex & Myrdal, Janken (eds). Food and Drink and Travelling Accessories. Article by Hugh Cheape, 'Food and Liquid Containers in the Hebrides: A Window on the Iron Age'. NMS & Nordiska Museet. 1988. pp 6-27. 
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