Italian presence in tin glazed ceramics of Spanish America

Abstract

Until recently the possibility of Italian wares present in archaeological sites in Spanish America was virtually overlooked. Perhaps such bias existed because far too often misleading statements about the exclusivity of Spanish overseas possessions have been accepted without question, when in fact non-Spaniards and non-Spanish goods were present from the very beginning of the occupation of the Americas. As the pace of historical archaeology in Latin America has quickened, it has become increasingly apparent that ceramics originating in Italy were commodities shipped to the Spanish colonies through fairly stable channels. However, their identification has been confounded by inadequate knowledge on the other side of the Atlantic of both Spanish and Italian sixteenth and seventeenth century common grade tablewares. Furthermore, as analysis has progressed, Italian presence amid New World ceramics can be detected on two distinct levels—the importation of actual pieces of pottery and the more amorphous but meaningful diffusion of Italian refinements in technology and ceramic art idioms. Not only is there abundant historical documentation keyed to events in Sevilla to explain the background for these developments, but the question now arises as to why more such intrusion cannot be ascertained.