European pottery trade in the Northwest of the Iberian Peninsula during the Early Modern Period. The role of Asturias

Abstract

The region of Asturias is in the north-western part of the Iberian Peninsula and faces the Cantabrian Sea, the southern extent of the Bay of Biscay. In the Early Modern Period, Asturias belonged to the Kingdom of Castile and was part of an international network of commercial exchange. This research presents the analysis of 3066 pottery sherds. The fragments come from twenty-one different pottery production sites and date in the Early Modern Period. Among the diverse data produced by these excavations, our research has focused on the study and classification of the pottery material of the Early Modern Period. Before this study, these ceramics had only been studied in a cursory way, so there was a lack of a synthetic and comprehensive view of this material. This contribution shows the great diversity in pottery that was present in Asturias in the Early Modern Period. Although being a peripheral region of the Kingdom of Castile, its ports made it open to the world. In addition to their local products, these relations allowed Asturias to import ceramics from Seville, Talavera de la Reina, Holland, stoneware from Northern Europe and porcelain from China.