Caribbean blues: excavating transfer-printed ceramics on the island of Nevis

Thursday, 1PM EST

Tittle: Caribbean blues: excavating transfer-printed ceramics on the island of Nevis

Speaker: David Barker

Ceramic finds from excavations on the Caribbean island of Nevis include a significant quantity of transfer-printed wares. These feature a wide range of patterns from well-known and lesser-known British manufacturers.

This talk will highlight some of the more popular printed wares in use on the island during the 19th century and will consider their roles in a variety of domestic contexts. The island’s changing economic fortunes and the decline of sugar production provide a backdrop for a discussion of these wares, as does the state of the British trade in ceramics to its colonies and other transatlantic markets.

Dr. David Barker is a well-known researcher and author on the history of the ceramics industry, its processes and its products.

Formerly City Archaeologist and Keeper of Archaeology for Stoke on Trent Museums, he currently works as an archaeological consultant and ceramics specialist (and musician).

He was a recipient of a TCC Research Grant for a study of transfer-printed wares on the Caribbean island of Nevis and has many more on-going ceramic research projects.

He has taught on Staffordshire University’s MA in Ceramic History and has lectured widely at all levels in the UK, Europe and North America. His publications include the books William Greatbatch, a Staffordshire Potter and Slipware in the Potteries Museum & Art Gallery, as well as numerous journal articles.

David is a past President of the Society for Post-Medieval Archaeology, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London and has received an Award of Merit from the Society for Historical Archaeology.

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