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Museum object · Slavery and Freedom Objects

Colonoware pot from Cooper River, Charleston County, SC

18th century

Charleston County, South Carolina, United States, North and Central America

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Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

A Colonoware ceramic pot from Cooper River, Charleston County, SC (c. 1700-1800). The unglazed vessel has a rounded body with a rounded base. The vessel has a lip that is smaller than the diameter of the vessel’s shoulder and a narrowed neck. The vessel is reddish brown with areas of dark discoloration. The vessel is fragmented and has been heavily cross mended. There is a large area of loss on one side of the body that extends from the just below the shoulder to the rim. The central design element are incised curvilinear lines bordered by two (2) lines at the vessel’s neck and shoulder. The exterior body and the interior lip and body of the vessel are lightly decorated with dark, irregular circular marks of varying sizes. Most of the circular marks are dark, but a few are outlined in white, textured paint near the large area of loss.

Sources & collection details

Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture — original record ↗

Source collection ↗

Catalog metadata · CC0 · Source checked 2026-10-13

Catalog reference: 2017.108.1.3

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