Puebla Blue-on-White ware is just one of the centuries-old ceramic traditions called majolica (sometimes spelled maiolica). Majolica was established in Mexico during the sixteenth century. Pieces have frequently been found in Californian archaeological sites including Dog River and the Jacobs' House. In general, majolica is a soft, whitish or buff pottery. It is covered with an enamel or glaze and has a dense white color. Because of the tin in the enamel it appears opaque and therefore obscures any decoration beneath it. The colors must then be painted over the enamel after it has been fired. It could also be applied to the dried enamel before firing. The enamel and decorations are fused in the kiln and the glaze appears to be intermixed with the enamel. Mexican potters used the latter method. There are several traditions of Puebla Blue-on-White ware. One is called the Undifferentiated Puebla Blue-on-White Tradition or San Elizario Polychrome. This tradition lasted from the beginning of the eighteenth century until the mid-nineteenth century. Its white enamel and varying shades of dark blue decoration characterize ware in this tradition. Occasionally, light blue is also used. This type of majolica has been found in all military post ruins in California.
Another tradition is the Huejotzingo Blue-on-White from the same time period. This tradition has only a single blue band covering the lip and adjacent inside and/or outside rim of the vessel. Because of only the single band of blue and lack of any other decoration, there aren't many shards representing this tradition. Most shards would be categorized as undifferentiated majolica. There has only been one shard Huejotzingo found in the northern archeology site region and this one has a green band rather than the traditional blue. The green variation appeared from 1780 until 1800 and may have been an attempt by the Puebla potters to compete with the black-market European ceramics.
The third tradition is the Wavy Rim Blue-on-White from 1700 to 1800. The undulating rim shape characterizes this tradition. It also has a single band covering the lip and inner and/or outer rim. This type also has a low shard representation for the same reason as the Huejotzingo. Like the Huejotzingo the Wavy Rim has a green variation which probably occurred for the same reasons. It is thought that the more colorful Aranama Tradition started to replace the Puebla Blue-on-White during the late eighteenth century. During the last twenty years of the eighteenth century green began replacing the traditional blue decoration. It is thought that this coloration shift was made in response to the colonial desire for more colorful table pieces that the Puebla Blue-on-White tradition. Colonials had an increasing availability to the brightly colored British wares as well as the Chinese porcelains. After 1810 both of these wares appeared with greater frequency in Spanish-colonial sites in California. This increase of wares reflects the increase in illegal trade colonials made with foreign merchants following the Hidalgo Revolt of 1810. Archaeologists believe that Puebla Blue-on-White wares were utilitarian and were used both for preparation and serving. They also believe that due to the much greater number of traditional blue and white coloring compared to the green there was a long-term reliance on the blue and white.
Link:
http://www.southalabama.edu/archaeology/old_mobile/tableware_from_around_the_world.htm ( unavailable )
"Jacobs House Paper." - http://www.rtd.com/~aztlan/jhp.htm ( unavailable.) December 1,1999
"Report 001 Appendix." - http://www.wcdesignservices.com/usace/Reports/Rpt001Ab.html December 1,1999
"Tableware from around the world.- http://www.southalabama.edu/archaeology/old_mobile/tableware_from_around_the_world.htm, December 1,1999
"Trench Artifact Assemblage." - http://www.wc-designerservices.com/presidio/reports/report3/sec5.html December 1,1999