WILLIAMSBURG — A bottle that held German mineral water. A decanter for Madeira, a popular Portuguese wine. Coconut shells from the Indo-Pacific or Caribbean, shards of ceramics from China and seashells from Africa.
Not to mention the skeletal jaw remains of a green monkey and a baboon native to West Africa, possibly “ship pets” during the British colonization period or exotic pets kept by wealthy residents as a sign of their worldliness.
Those are just a handful of the imported items in The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s collection of more than 60 million artifacts. Together, they prove that 18th century Williamsburg was a surprisingly international city.
“People might think of Williamsburg as a really sleepy colonial town, a place on the periphery of what was going on in the world,” said Sean Devlin, Colonial Williamsburg’s senior curator of archaeological collections. “That’s not at all the case. It really was a central hub.”
On Sept. 7, Colonial Williamsburg will unveil a new exhibition of 225 artifacts focused on that very theme. “Worlds Collide: Archaeology and Global Trade in Williamsburg” will remain on display through Jan. 2, 2027, in a gallery at the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum.
The exhibit will showcase tangible items that reflect on daily life in Williamsburg for a diverse population of men, women and children; African, European and Indigenous Americans; rich, middle-class and poor families; and free residents and slaves.
Some artifacts are literal evidence of cultural blending, such as locally-produced ceramics called colonoware unearthed at nearly every 18th-century Williamsburg site. The clay bowls, pans and other vessels are European in form but were fired at low temperatures in open pits — a Native American technique — rather than in a pottery kiln, and were pressed into shape, not thrown on a wheel.
“These aren’t abstract ideas, but materials that we can all look at together and that can spark discussions about our shared past,” noted Jack Gary, CW’s executive director of archaeology. “Guests will likely see themselves and the modern world in many of these items.”
Take a thin copper dog tag, likely once sewn onto a collar, with the letters “JASPE” clearly visible. Archaeologists believe they spell out part of the dog owner’s name, following a community directive for animals to have identification if they roamed outdoors.
“People had pet dogs in their households for personal enjoyment, in addition to guard dogs and hunting dogs,” Devlin said. “That’s so relatable for us.”
So is Pyrmont bottled water, a predecessor to the likes of Poland Spring and Dasani. In 1725, King George I of England visited the spring of Pyrmont in modern day Germany in 1725 and gave a “celebrity” endorsement of sorts to its water. Branded bottles then grew popular among British consumers, setting off a health craze that crossed the Atlantic Ocean.
Many objects in “World Collide” traveled great distances to Williamsburg, such as a fragment of a Chinese porcelain platter owned by John Murray, Earl of Dunmore, the last royal governor of Virginia, and porcelain tea vessels from China. Many colonists developed a taste for tea, largely imported from China, along with European wines, particularly from Spain and Portugal.
Some items also reflect influences from multiple countries and time periods. A fashionable white-on-blue Persian urn, made in England, imitated tin-glazed wares produced in 17th century France that in turn had drawn inspiration from Persian styles of earlier centuries.
“Worldwide commerce is nothing new and touched most parts of the north Atlantic world in the 18th century, even in a place as small as Williamsburg, Virginia,” said Ron Hurst, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s chief mission officer.
As for the export side, tobacco became such a lucrative crop in Virginia and other 18th century colonies that Britain began producing and shipping out tens of thousands of broad hoes such as the one discovered at Carter’s Grove Plantation, a style originally designed by colonists.
The majority of Williamsburg’s early Black population was enslaved. One type of artifact that reflects both the traumatic journeys and remarkable resiliency of slaves is cowrie shells, external casings for sea snails native to the Indian and Pacific oceans that acted as money throughout the Indo-Pacific and sub-Saharan Africa for centuries.
While slave traders frequently used the shells as currency, archaeological evidence indicates that enslaved residents also saved them as keepsakes and turned them into jewelry, hair ornaments and decorations for clothing.
For young CW visitors, “Worlds Collide” includes a gold ring for a child engraved with the name Mary Brodnax, likely crafted by her father, local goldsmith John Brodnax. There’s also a small wooden spinning top, a common toy for boys in particular, found in a well during a 1960s dig.
“It’s amazing to think, the last person to touch it before that probably was a child in the 1700s,” Devlin said. “An object can be a powerful bridge between past and present, and if the past feels more relevant, we hope people will want to learn more — find more connections.”
Alison Johnson, ajohnsondp@yahoo.com
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If you go
Where: DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum, 201 S. Nassau St., Williamsburg
When: Exhibit opens Sept. 7 and runs through Jan. 2, 2027
Prices: Single-day admission to the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg is $14.99 for adults (ages 13 plus) and $8.99 for youth (ages 6 to 12)
Details: 855-296-6627 or visit colonialwilliamsburg.org
