Archaeology Terms
Hand-Painted Porcelain Teacups - Lessard
Three hand-painted, soft-paste porcelain teacups were recovered in 2006 from the Eastern Foundation of an early 1830s-1840s privy in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. They appear to be from a matching set. One has a handle, another has a partial handle, and the third is fragmentary and missing the handle. The hand-painted decoration on the insides of the cups consists of a large flower with a yellow center and maroon petals. Large, green fern-like leaves with red stems extend from the flower. The inside bottom of each cup has a red stem with green, oak leaf–like petals. The outsides of the cups have three oak leaf–like petals like those on the inside bottom. The cups also have a molded, raised floral design about halfway down the outside. The rims are slightly scalloped. The cups are about 2 inches high, 3¾ inches in diameter at the rim, and 1¾ inches in diameter at the base.