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At the Edge of Empire? Women’s Ceramic Collections in Seventeenth-Century Newfoundland

ABSTRACT The sisters Sara Kirke and Frances Hopkins were successful plantation owners in the colony of Ferryland, Newfoundland. This article examines artefacts found in situ at Ferryland, alongside archival documents, to illuminate how Kirke and Hopkins positioned themselves as important actors in the English Atlantic empire. They were involved in debates on the future of the colony, and in their homes they also conveyed their feminine taste and imperial ambition through the display of exotic ceramics. The article focuses attention on the role of women in Newfoundland colonisation and also offers a new perspective on elite women’s collecting in colonial spaces.