Jutish ware from Brønderslev

Abstract

Jutish ware from Brønderslev

Until the beginning of the 20th century black, clamp-fired earthen ware, so called jutish ware, was still produced at a few places in Jutland. The peak of the production was around 1840, at which time it is believed that 1,8-1,9 million vessels were produced per year. The production of the pottery was a sideline to farming. However in some districts the work was done so intensively, that it almost had the character of a professional trade, as servant girls in the summer were explicitly employed to produce pots.

There were several centres of production primarily in the south-western and middle part of Jutland. From written sources it is known that jutish ware was produced in the village of Vester Brønderslev in northern Jutland. As the production is believed to have been in modest quantities and stopped quite early, very little is so far known about the vessel shapes and types.

This article will present the vessel types from a large find of jutish ware made near the farm of Paukjærgård in Brønderslev. The find consists of 305 kilograms of sherds of Jutish ware, which are probably waste from manufacturing. This is not the only find of large quantities of jutish ware made in and around Brønderslev (fig. 3); in 1959 and 1971 large amounts of sherds were dug up in and around the town. The documentation of these other finds is however too poor to offer the basis for more thorough analyses.

Site and excavation

The find was made in april 1978 when a pit containing a large quantity of sherds was cut during trench digging on the south-eastern edge of the town of Brønderslev.

The pit had been dug c. 1 m into the subsoil and measured c. 5,5 m at the top. In the bottom of the pit was a c. 30 cm thick layer of downwashed sand over which was a 30 cm thick, compact layer of sherds and a few lumps of clay. (fig. 1 and 2) Between the sherds was black soil.

The original purpose of the pit could not be stated with certainty. The depth of the pit and the lack of ash, however, indicates that it was not a kiln. It's more likely to have been a sand pit, as the subsoil was sand.

After a rather sketchy recording of the profile, the sherd layer was excavated. This was done with a mechanical excavator by first removing the top soil, and carefully placing the shovel under the sherd layer, which was taken up in lumps.

General descripition of the material

The vessels are handmade, i.e. pressed out in the clay without the use of a throwing wheel. After shaping the vessels the surfaces of most vessel types were smoothed by scraping and partial burnishing.

The fabric of the sherds is generally light grey and the clay has been tempered with fine sand. Most of the sherds are c. 0,5 cm thick. The surfaces of the vessels are black with burnishing, the extent of which however depends on the vessel type.

The very homogeneous character of the sherds might suggest alone indicate that it is manufacturing waste. Because of the relatively low firing temperature and the high degree of fragmentation of the sherds only a few definite signs of misfiring can be established. However fairly many sherds with cracked or flaking surfaces can be seen. Furthermore there are no traces of the vessels having been used before discarding, such as wear on feet and bases or traces of burnt food.

Vessel types

The vessels can be divided into four functional groups: I. Cooking vessels, II. Table vessels, III. Storage vessels, IV. Vessel for lighting and heating.

1. Cooking vessels

Long-handled pots (fig. 4 & 5)

In the find are 33 long handles most probably from tripod cooking pots. The rims of the vessels has a diameter of 20-22 cm and are everted (fig. 4a-b). A single vessel has incurved rim and a rim diameter of only 16 cm (fig. 4c). As it is general to all of the cooking pots, burnishing is restricted to the rim and the internal side of the bottom.

Long-handled pans (fig. 6)

1. 5 handles from tripod frying pans are found. The pans had a diameter of c. 26- 27 and are 3,5-4,7 cm deep.

Small pots (fig. 7)

The few small pots in the find had rim diameters of c. 11 cm. A single loop handle is fastened to the rim and the vessel side. Two types of bases for the small pots are found, tripod and a flat.

Roasters

The roasters had a rim diameter of 20-22 cm and are 8,0-9,3 cm deep. The rim shape is quite alike for all vessels, but the shape of the bases differed much and could either be slightly rounded, upbend or flat.

Large cooking pots (fig. 8 & 9)

The most frequent vessel type in the find is the tripod cooking pot. The rim diameters in this category vary from 18 to 32 cm; however two distinct sizes with rim diameters of 18-20 and 28-30 cm can be distinguished. The shapes of the rims vary considerably, but all were everted.

1. Table vessels

Jugs (fig. 10)

The jugs of the find are rather round-bellied with strap handles attached to rim and belly. Extensive patterns of burnishing are seen on the outer surfaces. The body and the necks consisted of two separately formed parts.

Bowls (fig. 11)

The bowls had a rim diameter of 22-28 cm and were 8-10 cm deep. The inner surface of most of the vessels is burnished. On a few however only the rim is totally burnished with a lozenge pattern of slanting lines of burnishing on the rest of the inner surface.

Small bowl (fig. 12)

A large fragment of a single small bowl is found. The bowl has a rim diameter of 15 cm and is at least 4 cm deep. The shape of the base is unknown as it is not preserved. The sides are 0,3 cm thick, gradually increasing to 0,5 cm at the rim. All of the internal part of the vessel is burnished.

Plates

Only a few fragments from plates are found. The plates had a diameter of c. 27 cm. The depth of the plates varies from 3,4 to 5,7 cm. The thickness of the plates varies between 0,6 and 1,0 cm.

III. Storage vessels

Coarse vessels (fig. 13)

In the find 12 kg of distinctly thicker and coarser sherds can be sorted out, representing at least 6 vessels. The sherds has very uneven surfaces with no signs of any smoothening or burnishing. Their thickness varies from 0,45 to 0,9 cm within short distances. The rims are all incurved but vary so much that each vessel had its own specific rim shape. The rim diameters varied from 32 to 40 cm. Little can be said about the vessel shape, but one flat base with a diameter of 16 cm is found.

Costrel (fig. 14)

A single fragment of the mouth part of a costrel is found. The vessel has rim diameter of 12,2 cm., the rim being vertical. There are no traces of handles. The neck and the body are formed as two separate parts.

1. Light and heating

Stove tiles (fig. 15)

Stove tiles form c. 35,5 kg of the find, i.e. a bit more that 1/10 of its weight. The sherds are easily distinguished from other sherds as they are coarser and all fired red. The stove tiles has a square, 16-20 cm wide rim and are 12 cm deep.

Lamp (fig. 16a-b)

A single fragment stems from a candlestick or an oil lamp. The exact use cannot be determined as the upper part is missing. All original surfaces of the vessel are burnished.

The dating of the find

Jutish ware is in general hard to date on its own terms. To get a reliable date it is therefore necessary to make a close study of 27 sherds from 10 pieces of glazed pottery (fig. 17 & 18), which were also found in the pit. The glazed pottery can with some uncertainty, which is partially due to the paucity of published finds, be dated to the period c. 1650-1700.

The manufacturing of jutish ware in Brønderslev

The production of jutish ware in the village of Brønderslev is first mentioned in written sources from the mid 17th century. These mentions are however mostly very brief. The only more detailed assessment of the production is made by the local prefect in 1838. At this date 10 families were said to support themselves partially by producing pottery. The prefect had a low opinion of the product. He underlined the modest size of the industri by pointing out that on the markers of the county many vessels produced in Vorup (near Randers in eastern Jutland) were sold.

Production of jutish ware in Brønderslev probably ended in the 1860's or 1870's. The reason for the end of the production was the spread of the iron stove, for which earthenware was unsuited.

The social context of the production of jutish ware in Brønderslev is only known from about the time when production ended. At that time the pottery was mostly produced by the smallholders' wives. The non-professional character of the production is underlined by the fact that in census papers for Brønderslev from 1781 and 1801 no person is designated as "potter".

Probably Brønderslev became a centre for the manufacture of this ware only to supplement agricultural production.

Jens Andersen