Rhenish stoneware was manufactured in the Rhineland area of Germany beginning in the 17th century. This type of ceramic was commonly imported into the North American colonies via England through the mid-late 18th century. Grey Rhenish stoneware decorated with various cobalt blue designs (hence the oft used term, Rhenish Blue and Grey Stoneware) is encountered frequently in archaeological contexts at Colonial Dorchester. These utilitarian ceramics are evidence of the vast Atlantic trade that brought global goods to Dorchester.

Hume, Ivor Noel. 1969. A Guide to Artifacts of Colonial America. University of Pennsylvania Press. Philadelphia, PA.