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

第一次，一个国际研究小组对在世界各地的考古遗址中发现的早期现代最成功的德国产品之一进行了全面的全球概览：莱茵石器容器，具有独特的胡须面罩、球茎形状和应用徽章，有各种不同的名称，包括灰胡子、贝拉明或巴特曼罐，主要生产于约1500-1750年。其中大部分是为出口而制造的，主要是出口到荷兰或英国，在伦敦和阿姆斯特丹等主要城市中心、较小的遗址和沉船中都可以发现它们的广泛考古背景。作为殖民扩张的结果，它们蔓延到整个已知的世界，出现在早期的欧洲定居点，这一现象尚未得到充分的记录；它们的象征内容和其他文化内涵的方面也鲜有人了解。此外，目前对莱茵·巴特曼水壶的生产和交易的研究状况仍然支离破碎，与它们最初的广泛分布和受欢迎程度以及它们现在受到博物馆的关注都有奇怪的不同。通过德国、英国、荷兰、瑞典和美国考古学家、历史学家和科学家的合作，并通过汇集广泛的来源和方法，我们的目标是在一个新的国际、综合、跨学科和互动的项目中扩大我们对这件具有重要意义和标志性文物的知识，以在全球范围内推进巴特曼研究的前沿。中心目标是通过研究生产者、市场和消费者之间的关系以及发现莱茵石器的文化背景，实现更广泛的学术、专业和公众对巴特曼水壶重要性的认识，从而将其定位为了解现代早期技术发展、通信手段、贸易和全球化的资源。结合团队的专业知识，我们将1)回顾莱茵石器生产和贸易的历史来源，2)回顾最近关于关键组装的工作，并建立明确的术语和排版年表，3)通过化学和岩相学分析建立更紧密的莱茵和英国石器的面料特征，4)研究巴特曼的社会和文化影响，5)研究莱茵石器对德国和英国陶瓷创新的影响，6)研究巴特曼水壶在全球贸易和消费中的影响，以及作为世界不同文化背景下的标志性物品。通过对德国、荷兰、英国和欧洲西北部和美国选定的消费者遗址以及沉船的档案资料和考古集合进行彻底审查，该项目将对我们理解为什么巴特曼石器在早期现代时期如此成功的目标做出重要贡献。

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.