Olive Moulded Tableware Mudlarked Pendant

Historical Information

Type: Press-Moulded Tableware
Fabric: Fine Earthenware
Date: Late 19th – Early 20th Century
Find Location: The Thames Estuary, UK
Extra Information:
This mudlarked sherd comes from a press-moulded earthenware bowl featuring a distinctive waffle-style lattice pattern beneath a glossy olive-green glaze. The crisp regularity of the grid indicates machine pressing rather than hand-stamping, a hallmark of industrial ceramic production in the Victorian and Edwardian periods (c. 1880–1930).

Such relief-moulded bowls were popular both as decorative serving pieces and as practical household tableware, produced in large quantities by factories across the UK. The olive-green glaze, applied evenly over the fine white body, reflects design trends of the era, when richly coloured utilitarian wares were fashionable for everyday use.

Although only a fragment remains, the sherd retains a sense of elegance and durability, offering a glimpse into the domestic aesthetics of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.