‘Bartmann goes global’ – the cultural impact of an iconic object in the early modern period

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For the first time, an international research team is taking a comprehensive global overview of one of the most successful German products of the early modern period, encountered on archaeological sites across the world: the Rhenish stoneware container with distinctive bearded face mask, bulbous shape and applied medallions, variously known as the ‘greybeard’, Bellarmine or Bartmann jug, and produced mainly in the period c. 1500-1750. Most were made for export, mainly to the Netherlands or England, and they are found in a wide range of archaeological contexts, in major urban centers such as London and Amsterdam, on smaller sites and in shipwrecks. As a result of colonial expansion they spread across the entire known world and occur on early European settlements, a phenomenon that has not yet been adequately documented; aspects of their symbolic content and other cultural connotations are also barely understood. In addition, the current state of research on the production and trading of Rhenish Bartmann jugs remains fragmented and strangely at odds with both their original widespread distribution and popularity and the attention they now receive from museums. Through the collaboration of German, English, Dutch, Swedish and American archaeologists, historians and scientists, and by drawing together a wide range of sources and approaches, we aim to expand our knowledge of this highly significant and iconic artefact in a new international, integrated, interdisciplinary and interactive project to advance the frontiers of Bartmann research on a global scale. The central objective is to achieve a broader academic, professional and public awareness of the importance of the Bartmann jugs, by studying the relationships between producer, market and consumer and the range of cultural contexts in which Rhenish stonewares are found, thereby positioning it as a resource for understanding technological development, means of communication, trade and globalization in the early modern period. Combining team’s expertise, we will 1) review historic sources on production and trade of Rhenish stoneware, 2) review recent work on key assemblages and establish a definitive terminology and typochronology, 3) establish closer fabric characterization of Rhenish and English stonewares by chemical and petrographic analyses, 4) study the social and cultural impact of the Bartmann, 5) examine the impact of Rhenish stoneware on ceramic innovation in Germany and England and 6) examine the impact of Bartmann jugs in global trade and consumption and as iconic objects in different cultural contexts worldwide. By carrying out a thorough review of archival sources and archaeological assemblages in Germany, the Netherlands, England and selected consumer sites in north-west Europe and America, as well as from shipwrecks, the project will make an essential contribution to our objectives of understanding why Bartmann stonewares were so successful in the early modern period.