Tea cup from early 1900s Italian American household in Santa Clara, CA

Tea cup from early 1900s Italian American household in Santa Clara, CA

Panich, Lee

historic archaeology

tea cup

ceramics

heritage

American Period

During the mid 19th and early 20th century, Americans were very concerned with having the proper ceramic serving wares, and tea cups were an essential piece to any household’s dining sets (Fitts, 1999; Fitts, 2002; Brighton, 2011). It was considered a sign of respectability and status to be able to afford a variety of different serving vessels that could be for specific dishes (ibid). Though it was popular in the upper and middle classes to have large, matching sets of decorative china, most working class immigrant families could not afford such expensive sets and would either have simple, plain earthenware, or a mix-matched set of decorative pieces (ibid). This was the only piece of ceramic that was found in the deposit, so no conclusions can be made about this family’s dining collection, however, if this deposit is associated with the Italian Bacigalupi family as I suspect, it is interesting that a teacup was found rather than a coffee cup, as the historical work by Fitts (2002) suggests that many Italian immigrants continued serving coffee during social gatherings, as was the cultural custom, rather than tea, which was the trend among established American families. Perhaps the Bacigalupis were serving their coffee in teacups rather than spending their money on cups specifically shaped for coffee.

1900-1924

Still Image

Santa Clara, CA

American Period

671 Franklin