Marmalade Mudlarked Sherd Pendant

Historical Information
Object: Marmalade or preserve pot sherd
Fabric / Body: Thick earthenware with clear glaze
Technique: Black underglaze transfer lettering
Date: c. 1870-1910
Likely Origin: England
Pattern / Product: "Oxford Home Made Seville Marmalade"
Find Location: Colchester, Essex
Extra Information:
This fragment comes from a late Victorian or Edwardian stoneware
marmalade jar, the type widely used by grocers before mass adoption of glass jars. "Oxford" and "Home Made" were common marketing terms rather than specific brands, evoking traditional domestic recipes at a time when factory-made foods were becoming widespread. Many small producers and local grocers commissioned unbranded or minimally branded transfer-printed pots, making exact identification difficult, but the surviving lettering strongly suggests a Seville orange marmalade jar.
Stoneware food pots were durable, inexpensive, and reusable. Once emptied, households often kept them for storage; when broken or no longer needed, they were discarded with everyday rubbish. Large quantities of such wares were transported, used, and thrown away in cities like London, where much household waste ended up along the Thames or in municipal dumps. This sherd represents a very typical example of Victorian and Edwardian food packaging - practical, robust, and central to daily domestic life.