Already mentioned is a large fragment of a dish found in a context not
later than 1640 and cruder and simpler in treatment than the remainder of
North Devon sgraffito ware thus far seen. It nevertheless belongs to the
same class. Its paste has the same characteristics of color and fracture,
while the firing has left the same tell-tale gray core found in a large
proportion of North Devon sherds. Surface treatment techniques match those
reflected in the typical dish sherds--glazed slip over the red paste on
the interior; unglazed, scraped, and abraided surfaces on the underside.
The yellow color is paler and the glazed surface is duller. The rim has a
smaller edge and omits the heavy raised bezel usually occurring on the
typical plates and chargers. The design motifs--crude and primitive in
comparison with those described above--consist of a series of stripes on
the rim, drawn at right angles to the edge with a four-pointed tool, and
crude hook-like ornaments traced with the same tool in the bowl of the
plate. This may be regarded as a forerunner of the developed sgraffito
ware made in the second half of the 17th century.
[Illustration: FIGURE 24.--Gravel-tempered pan sherds from Kecoughtan
site, Hampton, Virginia. United States National Museum.]