A Delft Tile Mystery at Schuyler Flatts, Hudson River

Delft tiles are traditional, tin-glazed earthenware originating from the Netherlands as early as the 16th century. They are best known for their distinctive blue-and-white or polychrome hand-painted designs.

Developed in the Dutch city of Delft during the late 1500s as a local response to imported Chinese porcelain, these tiles were popular in New Netherland and New York, and were used on walls, hearths, and fireplace surrounds.

Traditional motifs included pastoral landscapes, sailing ships, biblical stories, animals, and floral patterns.

Long-time archaeologist Dr. Paul Huey has recently brought a seemingly rare tile to new light while producing a forthcoming report on archaeological excavations at the Schulyer Flatts site north of Albany.

From 1969 to 2010 Huey developed and directed the historical archaeological resource management and research program for New York State Historic Sites. He has a PhD in American Civilization from the University of Pennsylvania.

His projects have included discovery and excavation of a part of the site of Dutch Fort Orange (1624-1676) in Albany; excavations at other Dutch 17th- and 18th-century sites; and excavations at Crown Point State Historic Site.

The site is preserved as the Schuyler Flatts Cultural Park under the care of the Town of Colonie, and features walking trails and historical plaques.

Archaeological Excavations at the Flatts

What is now known as Schuyler Flatts was a fertile floodplain on the Hudson River‘s west bank. The site includes evidence of prehistoric Native American and early Dutch colonial settlement, including a farm and trading outpost in what was then the Dutch patroonship of Rensselaerswijck.

Arent van Curler (also spelled Arendt van Corlaer, 1619 or 1620 – 1667), the grandnephew of the patroon Kiliaen van Rensselaer, established his homestead there from 1643 to 1666. The farm was purchased in 1672 by the Schuyler family, and was occupied by Pieter Schuyler and his descendants from 1692 to 1910.

The Flatts was a central hub for the fur trade and direct diplomacy with Native Americans, especially the Mohawk, who traveled to the Flatts to adjudicate disputes, discuss land and trade issues, and conclude various other agreements.

The Schuyler Flatts site has been an important location for historical archaeology. Excavations over the decades have yielded over 80,000 artifacts, tracing thousands of years of human activity from pre-colonial Indigenous encampments to early Dutch settlement and the era of enslaved African labor under the Schuyler family.

The first systematic archaeological study of the Flatts was initiated as a salvage operation by the New York State Historic Trust, after the site was threatened by a plan to build the Sirloin & Saddle Restaurant.

Excavations directed by Dr. Paul Huey, a pioneer of New Netherland archaeology, were undertaken from 1971 to 1974.

The team uncovered buried structural remnants, including stone foundation walls and an expansive 18th-century cobblestone-paved courtyard at the rear of where the Schuyler home once stood.

They recovered tens of thousands of household items, including Delftware, slip-decorated buff-bodied earthenware, fragments of clay tobacco pipes, leaded glass window fragments, and charred corn cobs indicating long-term food processing.

During a small municipal project in 1998 the skeletal remains of one individual were accidentally unearthed and placed into the care of the New York State Museum.

Hartgen Archaeological Associates was hired for the emergency archaeological work.

In 2005, a sewer project at the site uncovered a forgotten and unmarked burial ground. Bioarchaeological analysis by the New York State Museum revealed the remains of 13 more individuals enslaved by the Schuyler family (bringing the total to 14: 6 women, 1 man, 2 children, and 5 infants. In 2016, these individuals were re-interred at the nearby St. Agnes Cemetery.

Since 2016 there has been largely non-invasive survey methods employed at the site, led by Dr. Michael Lucas, Curator of Historical Archaeology with the New York State Museum.

Using mostly geophysical testing, researchers mapped the subterranean landscape without disturbing the soil. These efforts located a prehistoric Native American fire hearth alongside projectile points.

In September 2017, the New York State Museum formally acquired the entire collection compiled from Huey’s early 1970s excavations. More recently he has been producing a archaeological report for the site.

A Mysterious Tile

Dr. Huey has recently been seeking information about delft tile depicting an Indigenous person from the collection of Arthur Kirmss, a collector who is known for his making of reproduction wampum beads.

He acquired a large collection of rare mid-17th-century Delft ceramics that were excavated illegally by pot hunters at the Flatts in the 1970s. “There is no indication whatever from him that this delft tile is also from that site or was excavated,” Huey said, but he thinks it very-well may be.

“The delft tile is a classic example from the mid-17th century, with ox-head corners,” Huey said. “It appears to be original, but forgers can be very clever in making fakes. The question remains whether this tile is real.”

Huey has looked at thousands of intact and fragmentary 17th-century Dutch tiles, but has never seen any example depicting an Indigenous person. “This must be very rare, if real,” he said, welcoming opinions.

The circa 1650 tile has a standing figure of a North American Eastern Woodland Indian man, the object description reads:

“He wears a short fringed blanket around his shoulders, and appears to be wearing close fitting ” trousers” – or, (leggings?), laced at the ankle, and is barefoot.

“His headdress resembles the traditional “Gustoweh” hat – decorated with one or more feathers – which covers the head, and may here have a round medallion or badge on the headband.

“If it might be this type of hat, it also appears to bear one vertical feather. If this is a single feather, it then might be the emblem of the Seneca people – of what is now Western New York State. Whatever his tribe, he is of the Eastern Woodland peoples.”

Read more about New York Archaeology.

Illustrations, from above: The Delft tile; the Schuyler House at the Flatts before its destruction in the 1960s (HABS); a 1757 map showing The Flatts and Hudson River islands since filled-in (courtesy Town of Colonie Historian); and a fireplace using Delft tiles at Philipse Manor Hall.