Plimoth Plantation Heats

Up The 17^th Century

Unique Wood Fired Pottery Bi-cultural Style

Plymouth, MA, Plimoth Plantation – June 5, 2008 – Plimoth Plantation announces the Bi-cultural Pottery Firing, a unique craft event held at the museum’s Craft Center. Over three consecutive days, Sunday, June 29^th, through Tuesday, July 1^st, 2008, guests will have the opportunity to witness the Native and English traditions of finishing clay pots in outdoor firings and meet the 17^th-century-style potters responsible for creating the institution’s reproductions. This event, FREE with museum admission, complements Plimoth Plantation’s mission to provide an enlightening bi-cultural experience and educate visitors about both Native Wampanoag and Colonial English cultures.

“Plimoth Plantation is thrilled to present the 3-day, Bicultural Pottery Firing event. The physical world of the past, which our skilled staff strives to create, depends on layers of research and experimentation in many fields. The museum’s potters, in both the Native and English traditions, work from archaeological and other cultural evidence towards a greater understanding of past artisans, their products and their experiences,” said Paula Marcoux, Plimoth Plantation’s Associate Director of Material Culture.  “Each event --whether the 17th-century English kiln-firing or the Native brush-firing -- adds to our museum's knowledge of history and contributes to the greater study of material culture, while showcasing the processes and historically accurate pieces for our visitors.”

The Bi-cultural Pottery Firing allows visitors to come face to face with 17^th century technology and meet the talented potters of Plimoth Plantation. As this event spans three days, a museum admission special will be extended to guests, making tickets valid for three consecutive days, so visitors may witness the process from start to finish.

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On Sunday, June 29^th, potters will load the wood-fired kiln with more than one hundred colonial English inspired pots, thrown over the past few months. These pots are reproductions of the many forms found on local archeological sites, including pitchers, bowls, inkpots, candlesticks, storage vessels, and ointment pots. Every piece in the wood-fired kiln (whether it be a simply glazed bowl or an elaborate sgraffito jug), will emerge from the firing process completely unique from its neighbors.

The 17^th century-style English updraft kiln used in this process was built in 2001 with the assistance of two English archaeo-ceramacists. For this special event, the museum is lucky enough to welcome back one of these talented craftsmen-scholars, Oliver Kent, who will assist in the firing and describe his latest work. The kiln will be ignited on Monday, June 30^th and the 12-14 hour firing process will continue throughout the day, burning at over 1800° F. Visitors will be able to observe this uncommon, age-old process of wood-firing between 9am and 5pm that day.

Also during this period on Monday, June 30^th, Plimoth Plantation’s Wampanoag Indigenous Program staff will use an open fire in a pit to complete coil-made cooking pots and other containers that have been under production using traditional Native methods, throughout the spring of this year. Guests will have the opportunity to watch these pre-dried pots finished in a brush-firing, a process employed by the Native Wampanoag people even before the 17^th century. A much quicker method than the kiln, these pieces should be ready for use at Plimoth Plantation’s Wampanoag Homesite by evening.

Tuesday, July 1^st will mark the closing of this three-day event, as the reproduction English kiln will be cooled and ready to unload at 2:30 pm. Although Plimoth Plantation curators will select some of the finished products for use at the museum’s English sites, most of these distinctive and beautiful pieces will be available for sale at the Crafts Center Shop.  Some will be retailed for just under $20.00, while select pieces will retail for hundreds of dollars. This celebration of earthenware production not only exhibits the talent of the museum’s ceramic artisans but also demonstrates the pottery technology in use during the 17^th century. The juxtaposition of Native Wampanoag and Colonial English processes shows the true bi-cultural nature of the museum and provides a diverse opportunity for learning.