Stoneware handcrafted in the Historic Village
Find truly one-of-a-kind handcrafted pottery in a number of historically-accurate styles at Genesee Country Village & Museum in Mumford, NY. GCV&M is the only museum in the northeast that fires salt-glazed stoneware in a wood-fired kiln as it was done in the 19th Century.
A Kitchen Essential, Then & Now
Stoneware vessels were a kitchen essential used primarily for long-term storage of food as well as everyday use. GCV&M’s Village Potters work on-site year-round crafting unique ceramic pieces and educating visitors about their materials and methods. Once or twice a year the wood-fired kiln is bricked up, lit, and stoked continuously for several hours for visitors to experience!
Each piece of GCV&M pottery is unique. The potters produce a variety of styles including Salt Glazed Stoneware, Albany Slip, Bristol, and Redware. The materials used to create the pottery are locally sourced, and each design featured on pottery references historical markings on ceramic pieces from the New York State region in the 19th century. In addition to being available for purchase in the Museum’s Flint Hill Store, GCV&M pottery is used in historic homes throughout the Historic Village to add to the authenticity of interpretation of 19th-century life and historic foodways.
All GCV&M pottery uses non-toxic glazes, is dishwasher safe, oven safe, and microwave safe. Drastic changes in temperature can damage the pottery – it is recommended that stoneware be left to cool before refrigerating and put in the oven for the pre-heating process in order to come up to temperature gradually.
Albany Slip
Generally chocolate brown from the high iron content of the clay, the color of Albany slip varies from to black to reddish brown and even olive green. Use of Albany slip began in the first quarter of the 19th-century around the Albany area, was widespread by mid-century, and grew to popularity during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Bristol
First developed in England in the 19th-century as an alternative to salt and lead, Bristol glazes produce smooth white or blueish-white surfaces on stoneware pastes. The white coloration is created from a mixture of zinc oxide, calcium, feldspar and china clay.
Redware
Salt-Glazed Stoneware
Originating in Germany around 1520 and wood-fired in our historic kiln, salt-glazed pottery reaches nearly 2300° during the firing process! This matures the clay, turns the cobalt decoration into the traditional blue, and creates a glazed, textured surface by introducing salt into the firebox during the last hour of firing.
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Handcrafted goods made in the Historic Village, local art, Museum merchandise, historic toys, unique gifts, and more.