Weser Ware in the Netherlands

A Note by H. J. E. van Beuningen, with a catalogue byj. G. Hurst
and drawings by D. S. Neal

Interest in the Netherlands in German Post-
Medieval pottery, particularly that of Hesse, was
aroused by the finds made during construction
of a yacht harbour at Leeuwarden, which were
reported on by Nanne OTTEMA (1918). He re-
lated some of the pottery to a type, dated to the
17th Century, discussed by BOEHLAU (1903) in
the context of discoveries at Wanfried on the Ri-
ver Werra in Lower Hesse, to which the name
„Wanfried wäre” (new and better: Werraware,
STEPHAN 1981) has been given. He also poin-
ted to the importance of the economic links be-
tween the Netherlands and Hesse in the time of
Landgrave Moritz (1592—1627).
During the construction of the yacht harbour
fragments were found of at least 30 Wanfried
dishes and bowls, some dated between 1584 and
1597. It is clear that the excavators were intere-
sted especially in the Werra wäre because of its
decoration, which included figures and fre-
quently dates. But OTTEMA drew attention also
to the finding of other pottery, which he consi-
dered might be from the same source. He noted
that there were many sherds of medium-sized
and small bowls, which were decorated by brush
with wavy lines in green, yellow, red or brown.
The interiors of these bowls were reddish-brown,
or sometimes yellow where the reddish fabric
had been covered with a white slip. As well as
the wavy decoration, there were other types,
such as simple dots and stripes, and some of the
interiors of dishes had stylised figures of birds.
Besides the dishes and bowls there were straight-
sided pipkins from the same manufactory, and
there were also some smaller vessels with feet
and handles; in some cases these were decorated
with roulette decoration and various colours,
and might have been used as salt cellars, mu-
stard pots and the like. The illustrations in the

report show that this second group was exclusive -
ly Weser wäre.
Thus, OTTEMA has the distinction of having
been the first person in the Netherlands to have
suggested that this pottery was from Hesse, al-
though he was unable to indicate an actual place
for its origin. As a result of many subsequent
finds in the Netherlands the position has beco-
me much clearer, and I am happy to be in a Posi-
tion to report on the current Situation.
It must be observed that Weser wäre has much
simpler — and thus for the findet less intere-
sting — decoration than Werra wäre. The de-
signs are limited almost entirely to patterns,
with or without rouletting, and figure decora-
tion rarely appears. I know as yet of no dated
pieces. It could well be the case that its less inter-
esting designs have resulted in Weser wäre being
given much less attention in excavations than
Werra, so that sherds of Weser wäre were discar-
ded. I have come to this conclusion as a result of
being able to examine complete groups of chan-
ce finds of 17th Century pottery: it became clear
that wherever Werra sherds were found, Weser
wäre was also almost always present.
There are material differences between the two
types of pottery. It is quite conclusive that, in
Werra wäre, hollow vessels are hardly ever
found, whereas in Weser wäre there are hollow
vessels of various forms. Werra wäre, in fact,
consists almost entirely of dishes and bowls with
one or two handles. In Weser wäre, in addition
to these three forms, there are also cooking pots,
pipkins, small jugs, cups and even Bellarmines.
Thus the ränge of forms is much more extensive
than in the case of Werra wäre'. As already men-
tioned, I know of no dated examples; on the ot-
her hand, it is clearly established that Weser wa-

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