Domestic Furnishings

Washboards, armchairs, lamps, and pots and pans may not seem to be museum pieces. But they are invaluable evidence of how most people lived day to day, last week or three centuries ago. The Museum's collections of domestic furnishings comprise more than 40,000 artifacts from American households. Large and small, they include four houses, roughly 800 pieces of furniture, fireplace equipment, spinning wheels, ceramics and glass, family portraits, and much more.

The Arthur and Edna Greenwood Collection contains more than 2,000 objects from New England households from colonial times to mid-1800s. From kitchens of the past, the collections hold some 3,300 artifacts, ranging from refrigerators to spatulas. The lighting devices alone number roughly 3,000 lamps, candleholders, and lanterns.

The earliest domestic clocks in the American colonies were English-made "lantern" clocks, with brass gear trains held between pillars.
Description
The earliest domestic clocks in the American colonies were English-made "lantern" clocks, with brass gear trains held between pillars. Along with fully furnished "best" beds, looking glasses, sofas, silver, and case furniture, such clocks were the household objects consistently assigned the highest monetary value in inventories of possessions.
By the 18th century, the most common style of domestic clock came to look more like a piece of household furniture. A wooden case enclosed the movement, weights, and pendulum. Through a glass window the dial was visible.
In 1769, Pennsylvania clockmaker and millwright Joseph Ellicott completed this complicated tall case clock. On three separate dials, it tells the time and shows the phases of the moon; depicts on an orrery the motions of the sun, moon, and planets; and plays selected twenty-four musical tunes on the hour.
The musical dial on the Ellicott clock allows the listener to choose from twelve pairs of tunes. Each pair includes a short tune and a long one. On the hour only the short tune plays, but every third hour, both play. During a tune, automaton figures at the top of the dial appear to tap their feet in time to the music, and a small dog between them jumps up and down.
Joseph Ellicott moved from the Philadelphia area to Maryland in 1772 and, with his brothers Andrew and John, set up a flour-milling operation in what is now Ellicott City. The clock was a centerpiece in Ellicott family homes for generations.
Who else owned clocks in early America? Clock owners, like the American colonists themselves, were not a homogeneous group. Where a person lived influenced the probability of owning a timepiece. In 1774, for example, New Englanders and Middle Atlantic colonials were equally likely to own a timepiece. In those regions, roughly 13 or 14 adults out of 100 had a clock in their possessions when they died. Among Southern colonists at that time, only about 6 in 100 had a clock.
Date made
1769
user
Ellicott, Joseph
maker
Ellicott, Joseph
ID Number
1999.0276.01
accession number
1999.0276
catalog number
1999.0276.01
TITLE: Meissen: Pair of PlatesMAKER: Meissen ManufactoryPHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: ceramic, porcelain (overall material)MEASUREMENTS: D.
Description
TITLE: Meissen: Pair of Plates
MAKER: Meissen Manufactory
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION: ceramic, porcelain (overall material)
MEASUREMENTS: D. 9⅞" 25.1cm
OBJECT NAME: Plates
PLACE MADE: Meissen, Saxony, Germany
DATE MADE: 1760
SUBJECT: The Hans Syz Collection
Art
Domestic Furnishing
Industry and Manufacturing
CREDIT LINE: Hans C. Syz Collection
ID NUMBER: 63.244. AB
COLLECTOR/ DONOR: 378 AB
ACCESSION NUMBER:
(DATA SOURCE: National Museum of American History, Kenneth E. Behring Center)
MARKS: Crossed swords in underglaze blue; “22” impressed.
PURCHASED FROM: Arthur S. Vernay, New York, 1943.
This plate is from the Smithsonian’s Hans Syz Collection of Meissen Porcelain. Dr. Syz (1894-1991) began his collection in the early years of World War II, when he purchased eighteenth-century Meissen table wares from the Art Exchange run by the New York dealer Adolf Beckhardt (1889-1962). Dr. Syz, a Swiss immigrant to the United States, collected Meissen porcelain while engaged in a professional career in psychoanalysis and the research of human behavior. He believed that cultural artifacts have an important role to play in enhancing our awareness and understanding of human creativity and its communication among peoples. His collection grew to represent this conviction.
The invention of Meissen porcelain, declared over three hundred years ago early in 1709, was a collective achievement that represents an early modern precursor to industrial chemistry and materials science. The porcelains we see in our museum collections, made in the small town of Meissen in the German States, were the result of an intense period of empirical research. Generally associated with artistic achievement of a high order, Meissen porcelain was also a technological achievement in the development of inorganic, non-metallic materials.
The plate has overglaze enamel painting of a floral spray and scattered flowers in the naturalistic style. European flowers began to appear on Meissen porcelain in about 1740 as the demand for Far Eastern patterns became less dominant and more high quality printed sources became available in conjunction with growing interest in the scientific study of flora and fauna. For the earlier style of German flowers (deutsche Blumen) Meissen painters referred to Johann Wilhelm Weinmann’s publication, the Phytantoza Iconographia (Nuremberg 1737-1745), in which many of the plates were engraved after drawings by the outstanding botanical illustrator Georg Dionys Ehret (1708-1770). The more formally correct German flowers were superseded by mannered flowers (manier Blumen), depicted in a looser and somewhat overblown style based on the work of still-life flower painters and interior designers like Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer (1636-1699) and Louis Tessier (1719?-1781), later referred to as “naturalistic” flowers.
The Meissen manufactory operated under a system of division of labor. Flower and fruit painters were paid less than workers who specialized in figures and landscapes, and most painters received pay by the piece rather than a regular wage. Gold painting and polishing was the work of another division of specialists. In the late eighteenth century flower painters were even busier and consumer taste for floral decoration on domestic “china” has endured into our own time, but with the exception of a manufactory like Meissen most floral patterns are now applied by transfers and are not hand-painted directly onto the porcelain.
The rim of the plate has a shallow relief pattern with a trellis and diaper design known as the old Brandenstein (Alt Brandenstein) named for Friedrich August von Brandenstein, who in 1739 took the position of chief master of the kitchen at the Saxon court. Following the appointment to the manufactory in 1733 of court sculptor Johann Joachim Kaendler (1706-1775) modeling techniques became more sophisticated. The process of creating shallow relief patterns was laborious and required considerable skill. The sources for designs in relief came from pattern books and engravings, especially those by the French designer Jean Bérain the Elder (1638-1711), and the Nuremberg designer Paul Decker (1677-1713) among many others. These designs were applied in architecture, interior stucco work and wood carving, furniture, wall coverings, and ceramics. The “old Brandenstein” pattern was first recorded at Meissen in Johann Friedrich Eberlein’s (1695-1749) work report of 1741.
On graphic sources for Meissen porcelain see Möller, K. A., “Meissen Pieces Based on Graphic Originals” in Pietsch, U., Banz, C., 2010, Triumph of the Blue Swords: Meissen Porcelain for Aristocracy and Bourgoisie 1710-1815, pp.85-93; Cassidy-Geiger, M., 1996, ‘Graphic Sources for Meissen Porcelain’ in Metropolitan Museum Journal, 31, pp.99-126.
On the painting division at Meissen see Rückert, R., 1990, Biographische Daten der Meißener Manufakturisten des 18. Jahrhunderts, pp. 134-136.
On the Alt Brandenstein pattern see Reinheckel, G., 1968, ‘Plastiche Dekorationsformen im Meissner Porzellan des 18 Jahrhunderts’ in Keramos, 41/42, Juli/Oktober, pp.71-72.
Hans Syz, J. Jefferson Miller II, Rainer Rückert, 1979, Catalogue of the Hans Syz Collection: Meissen Porcelain and Hausmalerei, pp. 388-389.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
mid 18th century
1760
maker
Meissen Manufactory
ID Number
CE.63.245
catalog number
63.245
collector/donor number
440
accession number
250446
This twenty-four-piece silverware case contained twelve forks and twelve knives (see 1978.2424.01–1978.2424.24). Each piece has a handle of silver with the crest engraved on the handle depicting a profile bust of a woman emerging from a crown.
Description
This twenty-four-piece silverware case contained twelve forks and twelve knives (see 1978.2424.01–1978.2424.24). Each piece has a handle of silver with the crest engraved on the handle depicting a profile bust of a woman emerging from a crown. The silverware was made during the middle of the 18th century. Silverware then represented an important investment for colonial families. The silverware was more than just tableware, it was a reliable asset for colonial families—it could be easily moved, melted down, or redeemed for currency in lean times.
date made
1740 - 1760
ID Number
1978.2424.25
accession number
1978.2424
catalog number
1978.2424.25
Currently not on view
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1755 - 1765
ID Number
DL.383468
catalog number
383468
accession number
162866
Silver pistol-grip knife with curved blunt steel blade; engraved armorial device on hollow handle depicts crest of a mermaid or siren with flowing hair and textured skin in profile proper erased on a ducal coronet and wreath.
Description
Silver pistol-grip knife with curved blunt steel blade; engraved armorial device on hollow handle depicts crest of a mermaid or siren with flowing hair and textured skin in profile proper erased on a ducal coronet and wreath. Blade front has three incuse stamps, all partial, oriented along spine and facing handle: a dagger or trident, an imperial crown and "[BI]RD" in serif letters. From a set of 12 knives and 12 forks stored in original shagreen-covered case, 1978.2424.01-.025.
date made
1740 - 1760
ID Number
1978.2424.01
accession number
1978.2424
catalog number
1978.2424.01
MARK: No mark visiblePURCHASED FROM: Adolf Beckhardt, The Art Exchange, New York, 1941.The figure of a flute player is from the Smithsonian’s Hans Syz Collection of Meissen Porcelain. Dr.
Description
MARK: No mark visible
PURCHASED FROM: Adolf Beckhardt, The Art Exchange, New York, 1941.
The figure of a flute player is from the Smithsonian’s Hans Syz Collection of Meissen Porcelain. Dr. Syz (1894-1991) began his collection in the early years of World War II, when he purchased eighteenth-century Meissen table wares from the Art Exchange run by the New York dealer Adolf Beckhardt (1889-1962). Dr. Syz, a Swiss immigrant to the United States, collected Meissen porcelain while engaged in a professional career in psychiatry and the research of human behavior. He believed that cultural artifacts have an important role to play in enhancing our awareness and understanding of human creativity and its communication among peoples. His collection grew to represent this conviction.
The invention of Meissen porcelain, declared over three hundred years ago early in 1709, was a collective achievement that represents an early modern precursor to industrial chemistry and materials science. The porcelains we see in our museum collections, made in the small town of Meissen in Germany, were the result of an intense period of empirical research. Generally associated with artistic achievement of a high order, Meissen porcelain was also a technological achievement in the development of inorganic, non-metallic materials.
Meissen figures of this period evolved under the court sculptor Johann Joachim Kaendler (1706-1775) who became Modellmeister or master modeler at Meissen in 1733. It was he who established the appropriate scale and style for porcelain figures, informed by his training as a sculptor in other materials, and by the sensuous drama of baroque form. Kaendler introduced a novel type of small-scale sculpture in a new material imitated by numerous porcelain manufactories in Europe.
The flute player formed part of a large group known as the “Galant Orchestra” (Galante Kapelle), modeled between 1750 and 1760 by Johann Joachim Kaendler (1706-1775) with his assistant Friedrich Elias Meyer (1724-1785). The colorful and lively figures in the orchestra represent Dresden courtiers, not professional musicians and singers, and were used for table decoration to augment the confectioners’ art of creating sugar or marzipan sculptures hardened with tragacanth. They were also collectable objects for display in cabinets, and increasingly attractive to the entrepreneurial class that grew in numbers and wealth during the mid to late eighteenth century.
The Dresden court under Electors August II and Friedrich August III was renowned throughout Europe for its fine composers and the excellence of its musicians who performed at the opera and theater, for religious ceremonies, court entertainments, festivals, and hunts. Major composers and musicians who worked for the Dresden court for all or part of their careers included Johann David Heinichen (1683-1729); bass player and composer Jan Dismas Zelenka (1679-1745); violinist and composer Johann Georg Pisandel (1687-1755); Johann Adolf Hasse (1699-1783) and his wife the soprano Faustina Bordoni (1697-1781); flautist, oboist, and composer Johann Joachim Quantz (1697-1773). The Meissen figure of the flute player has a recorder lying by his feet, and at about the time Kaendler and Meyer modeled the Galant Orchestra in the mid-eighteenth century the recorder fell out of use in favor of the more dynamic flute which has greater sound projection and a wider tonal range. Not until the early music movement of the early to mid- twentieth century did the recorder become a professional musician’s instrument once again.
Meissen figures and figure groups are usually sculpted in special modeling clay and then carefully cut into separate pieces from which individual molds are made. Porcelain clay is then pressed into the molds and the whole figure or group reassembled to its original form, a process requiring great care and skill. The piece is then dried thoroughly before firing in the kiln. In the production of complex figure groups the work is arduous and requires the making of many molds from the original model. A version of the Gallant Orchestra is in production at Meissen today.
In the absence of a mark on this piece, and the inclusion of the recorder not seen on early models, the figure may be a nineteenth-century version, of which there are many.
On the modeling and molding process still practiced today at Meissen see Alfred Ziffer, “‘…skillfully made ready for moulding…’ The Work of Johann Joachim Kaendler” in Pietsch, U., Banz, C., 2010, Triumph of the Blue Swords: Meissen Porcelain for Aristocracy and Bourgeoisie 1710-1815, pp.61-67, and for further examples of the "Galante Kapelle" including the flute player see p. 360.
See chapter 2 The Court of Saxony-Dresden, in Owens, S., Reul, B. M., Stockigt, J. B., 2011, Music at German Courts, 1715-1760: Changing Artistic Priorities; Heartz, D., 2003, Music in European Capitals: the Galant Style, 1720-1780.
On eighteenth-century music and theatrical life in Dresden see Petrick, R., 2011, Dresdens bürgerliches Musik-und Theaterleben im 18. Jahrhundert. As long as Dresden citizens were well dressed, they were permitted to attend music and drama events hosted by the Elector or members of the court.
This object is not illustrated in the Catalogue of the Hans Syz Collection: Meissen Porcelain and Hausmalerei. Many of these figures were reproduced in the nineteenth century, and without a mark the status of this object is open to question.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1750-60
maker
Meissen Manufactory
ID Number
1992.0427.04
accession number
1992.0427
catalog number
1992.0427.04
collector/donor number
29
Paris type shouldered flagon or pichet with a C-curved, ball-and-disk tab thumb piece and lamb's-tongue extension burnt to the heart-shaped, pouted lid, which is stamped incuse "I O" at center. Flared rim and applied tapered base with molded inside edges; plain narrow body.
Description
Paris type shouldered flagon or pichet with a C-curved, ball-and-disk tab thumb piece and lamb's-tongue extension burnt to the heart-shaped, pouted lid, which is stamped incuse "I O" at center. Flared rim and applied tapered base with molded inside edges; plain narrow body. Strap handle with ridged thumbrest and short square terminal; oval strut. Bottom inside with large, raised serif letters "S D". Bottom outside struck with two small curvilinear touchmarks, one at center has "I L / C" around a crowned hammer and the other has "S G / C / E L".
Location
Currently not on view
date made
before 1764
ID Number
DL.67.0267
catalog number
67.0267
accession number
250853
Two-tined, silver pistol-grip fork with engraved armorial device on hollow handle depicting crest of a mermaid or siren with flowing hair and textured skin in profile proper erased on a ducal coronet and wreath. Straight tines with U-shaped root on smooth baluster shaft.
Description
Two-tined, silver pistol-grip fork with engraved armorial device on hollow handle depicting crest of a mermaid or siren with flowing hair and textured skin in profile proper erased on a ducal coronet and wreath. Straight tines with U-shaped root on smooth baluster shaft. No marks. From a set of 12 knives and 12 forks stored in original shagreen-covered case, 1978.2424.01-.025.
date made
1740 - 1760
ID Number
1978.2424.14
accession number
1978.2424
catalog number
1978.2424.14
Pistol-grip handled knife with blunt, curved and tapered blade; engraved crest on handle front or mark side depicts a mermaid or siren, with flowing hair and textured skin, in profile proper erased on a ducal coronet and wreath.
Description
Pistol-grip handled knife with blunt, curved and tapered blade; engraved crest on handle front or mark side depicts a mermaid or siren, with flowing hair and textured skin, in profile proper erased on a ducal coronet and wreath. Blade front has three incuse stamps, all partial, oriented along spine and facing handle: a dagger or trident, an imperial crown and "BI[RD]" in serif letters. From a set of 12 knives and 12 forks stored in original shagreen-covered case, 1978.2424.01-.025.
date made
1740 - 1760
ID Number
1978.2424.10
accession number
1978.2424
catalog number
1978.2424.10
Silver pistol-grip knife with curved blunt steel blade; engraved armorial device on hollow handle depicts crest of a mermaid or siren with flowing hair and textured skin in profile proper erased on a ducal coronet and wreath.
Description
Silver pistol-grip knife with curved blunt steel blade; engraved armorial device on hollow handle depicts crest of a mermaid or siren with flowing hair and textured skin in profile proper erased on a ducal coronet and wreath. Blade front has three incuse stamps, all partial, oriented along spine and facing handle: a dagger or trident, an imperial crown and "[B]IRD" in serif letters. From a set of 12 knives and 12 forks stored in original shagreen-covered case, 1978.2424.01-.025.
date made
1740 - 1760
ID Number
1978.2424.03
accession number
1978.2424
catalog number
1978.2424.03
Two-tined, silver pistol-grip fork with engraved armorial device on hollow handle depicting crest of a mermaid or siren with flowing hair and textured skin in profile proper erased on a ducal coronet and wreath. Straight tines with U-shaped root on smooth baluster shaft.
Description
Two-tined, silver pistol-grip fork with engraved armorial device on hollow handle depicting crest of a mermaid or siren with flowing hair and textured skin in profile proper erased on a ducal coronet and wreath. Straight tines with U-shaped root on smooth baluster shaft. No marks. From a set of 12 knives and 12 forks stored in original shagreen-covered case, 1978.2424.01-.025.
date made
1740 - 1760
ID Number
1978.2424.24
accession number
1978.2424
catalog number
1978.2424.24
Bowl-shaped porringer with bulging sides, slightly angled rim, and large boss bottom with narrow rounded gutter; cast handle is pierced in a keyhole pattern with 13 voids and engraved on front "E+H" in serif letters facing in.
Description
Bowl-shaped porringer with bulging sides, slightly angled rim, and large boss bottom with narrow rounded gutter; cast handle is pierced in a keyhole pattern with 13 voids and engraved on front "E+H" in serif letters facing in. Struck three times along rim exterior and bottom inside "PS" in raised serif letters inside a curvilinear shield. Weight engraved on bottom underside "oz / 8=8". Centerpoint on bottom underside.
Maker is Philip Syng, Jr. (1703-1789); working, 1742-1772. Born in Cork, Ireland, and emigrated with family to Philadelphia, PA, in 1714.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
before 1767
ID Number
1980.0466.01
accession number
1980.0466
catalog number
1980.0466.01
Two-tined, silver pistol-grip fork with engraved armorial device on hollow handle depicting crest of a mermaid or siren with flowing hair and textured skin in profile proper erased on a ducal coronet and wreath. Straight tines with U-shaped root on smooth baluster shaft.
Description
Two-tined, silver pistol-grip fork with engraved armorial device on hollow handle depicting crest of a mermaid or siren with flowing hair and textured skin in profile proper erased on a ducal coronet and wreath. Straight tines with U-shaped root on smooth baluster shaft. No marks. From a set of 12 knives and 12 forks stored in original shagreen-covered case, 1978.2424.01-.025.
date made
1740 - 1760
ID Number
1978.2424.16
accession number
1978.2424
catalog number
1978.2424.16
Raised hemispherical bowl with an applied molded rim, under which is attached a cast handle pierced in a keyhole pattern having 10 voids.
Description
Raised hemispherical bowl with an applied molded rim, under which is attached a cast handle pierced in a keyhole pattern having 10 voids. Bottom of bowl is pierced with small holes arranged with one at center encircled by two concentric circles and three rows of scallops or petals. Struck once on underside of handle "IB" in raised serif letters in a rounded rectangle.
Maker is John Bayly of Philadelphia, PA; active 1754-1783. His son, John Bayly Jr., was also a silversmith who worked in Philadelphia and New Castle Co., DE.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1765
ID Number
DL.383485
catalog number
383485
accession number
162866
Bail-handled, raised and pierced oval basket on pierced and tapered oval foot. Applied cast rim of scalloped gadrooning and a garland of laurel leaves and berries accented by roses and violets; gadrooned band at foot.
Description
Bail-handled, raised and pierced oval basket on pierced and tapered oval foot. Applied cast rim of scalloped gadrooning and a garland of laurel leaves and berries accented by roses and violets; gadrooned band at foot. Piercework design consists of eight beaded X's connected at their bottoms with scrollwork between their upper arms and alternating panels of three different diaper patterns between them; matching quatrefoil diaper pattern for foot. Hinged, openwork handle has gadrooned ovals connected by laurel berries across its serpentine bow and reverse C scrolls at ends. Basket exterior struck with four hallmarks, "W·P" in raised roman letters in indented rectangle, the raised gothic or Old English letter "I" in a surround, lion passant guardant in clipped-corner shield, and crowned leopard's head in round-bottom shield. Bottom underside scratched with a series of numbers; three centerpunches.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1764 - 1765
ID Number
DL.383729
catalog number
383729
accession number
166645
Raised globular bowl with a flat cover topped by a cast pineapple or berry and an inset, hinged-lid spout placed perpendicular to the baluster-turned handle pinned into a conical socket mounted to a double-domed circular plate; body perforated at spout.
Description
Raised globular bowl with a flat cover topped by a cast pineapple or berry and an inset, hinged-lid spout placed perpendicular to the baluster-turned handle pinned into a conical socket mounted to a double-domed circular plate; body perforated at spout. Side opposite spout is engraved with a crest depicting a horse's head, facing right with an arrow in its mouth pointed at its breast, rising from a heraldic wreath. Underside of flat bottom is struck once over the centerpoint "JC" in raised script in a rectangle.
Maker is Jonathan Clarke (1706-1766); working in Newport, RI, 1734-1755, and Providence, RI, 1755-1766.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1730-1766
maker
Clarke, Jonathan
ID Number
DL.383492
catalog number
383492
accession number
162866
Small, bail-handled, raised and pierced circular basket on pierced circular footring. Cast and applied, four serpentine-lobed gadrooned rim with ruffled shells and small oval bosses.
Description
Small, bail-handled, raised and pierced circular basket on pierced circular footring. Cast and applied, four serpentine-lobed gadrooned rim with ruffled shells and small oval bosses. Spiral piercework design consists of eight alternating panels of scrollwork and circles separated by shallow S-curve lines of graduated beads. Handle has an oblong panel at bow and tapered ends. Four hallmarks struck on well underside: "W·T" in raised roman letters in a rounded rectangle, the raised gothic or Old English letter "N" in a clipped-corner shield, lion passant guardant in clipped-corner rectangle, and crowned leopard's head in round-bottom shield.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1768
ID Number
DL.377444
catalog number
377444
accession number
138933
Pistol-grip handled knife with blunt, curved and tapered blade; engraved crest on handle front or mark side depicts a mermaid or siren, with flowing hair and textured skin, in profile proper erased on a ducal coronet and wreath.
Description
Pistol-grip handled knife with blunt, curved and tapered blade; engraved crest on handle front or mark side depicts a mermaid or siren, with flowing hair and textured skin, in profile proper erased on a ducal coronet and wreath. Blade front has three incuse stamps oriented along spine and facing handle: a dagger or trident, an imperial crown and "BIRD" in serif letters. From a set of 12 knives and 12 forks stored in original shagreen-covered case, 1978.2424.01-.025.
date made
1740 - 1760
ID Number
1978.2424.07
accession number
1978.2424
catalog number
1978.2424.07
Two-tined, silver pistol-grip fork with engraved armorial device on hollow handle depicting crest of a mermaid or siren with flowing hair and textured skin in profile proper erased on a ducal coronet and wreath. Straight tines with U-shaped root on smooth baluster shaft.
Description
Two-tined, silver pistol-grip fork with engraved armorial device on hollow handle depicting crest of a mermaid or siren with flowing hair and textured skin in profile proper erased on a ducal coronet and wreath. Straight tines with U-shaped root on smooth baluster shaft. No marks. From a set of 12 knives and 12 forks stored in original shagreen-covered case, 1978.2424.01-.025.
date made
1740 - 1760
ID Number
1978.2424.17
accession number
1978.2424
catalog number
1978.2424.17
Pistol-grip handled knife with curved blunt blade; engraved armorial device on handle back or non-mark side depicts crest of a mermaid or siren with flowing hair and textured skin in profile proper erased on a ducal coronet and wreath.
Description
Pistol-grip handled knife with curved blunt blade; engraved armorial device on handle back or non-mark side depicts crest of a mermaid or siren with flowing hair and textured skin in profile proper erased on a ducal coronet and wreath. Blade front has three incuse stamps oriented along spine and facing handle: a dagger or trident, an imperial crown and "BIRD" in serif letters. From a set of 12 knives and 12 forks stored in original shagreen-covered case, 1978.2424.01-.025.
date made
1740 - 1760
ID Number
1978.2424.04
accession number
1978.2424
catalog number
1978.2424.04
Two-tined, silver pistol-grip fork with engraved armorial device on hollow handle depicting crest of a mermaid or siren with flowing hair and textured skin in profile proper erased on a ducal coronet and wreath. Straight tines with U-shaped root on smooth baluster shaft.
Description
Two-tined, silver pistol-grip fork with engraved armorial device on hollow handle depicting crest of a mermaid or siren with flowing hair and textured skin in profile proper erased on a ducal coronet and wreath. Straight tines with U-shaped root on smooth baluster shaft. No marks. From a set of 12 knives and 12 forks stored in original shagreen-covered case, 1978.2424.01-.025.
date made
1740 - 1760
ID Number
1978.2424.21
accession number
1978.2424
catalog number
1978.2424.21
Raised bulbous or bellied cann or mug engraved "SECOND / PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH / NEWBURYPORT" on front in shaded serif letters beneath drapery swags. Molded rim, rounded bottom, and cast flared circular foot.
Description
Raised bulbous or bellied cann or mug engraved "SECOND / PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH / NEWBURYPORT" on front in shaded serif letters beneath drapery swags. Molded rim, rounded bottom, and cast flared circular foot. Hollow, S-curve handle has a sprigged upper terminal and a split scroll lower terminal with oval attachment. Struck once on rim exterior to left of handle "J•BALL" in raised serif letters in a rectangle, and on bottom underside "JOHN / BALL" in italic serif letters above centerpoint.
Maker is John Ball of Concord, MA; working, circa 1763-1767.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
ca 1765
ID Number
DL.383462
catalog number
383462
accession number
162866
Bowl-shaped porringer with bulging sides, angled rim, and boss bottom with rounded gutter; cast handle is pierced in a keyhole pattern with 11 voids and engraved on front "S / I*E" in shaded serif letters facing in.
Description
Bowl-shaped porringer with bulging sides, angled rim, and boss bottom with rounded gutter; cast handle is pierced in a keyhole pattern with 11 voids and engraved on front "S / I*E" in shaded serif letters facing in. Struck once on bottom inside and on back of handle "S•E" in raised serif letters with crown above and fleur-de-lis below, all in a shaped shield. Weight engraved on bottom underside "oz dw\t. gv / 8"2"12".
The maker is Samuel Edwards (1705-1762) of Boston, MA; working 1726-1762. Edwards was prolific silversmith from a family of prominent silversmiths, including his father, John Edwards (1671-1746); brother, Thomas Edwards (1701-1755; with whom he worked in partnership); and nephew, Joseph Edwards Jr. (1737-1783).
A teaspoon and porringer DL*381553-DL*381554 are both marked by Samuel Edwards and monogrammed "S / I*E" for Isaac Smith (1719-1787) and Elizabeth Storer (1726-1786), who married on October 6, 1746. Smith, a wealthy Boston merchant-shipowner, was Edwards' brother-in-law as well as his step-brother, while Elizabeth Storer (1726-1786) was Edwards' niece.
Location
Currently not on view
date made
1745 - 1760
original owner
Smith, Isaac
Smith, Elizabeth Storer
maker
Edwards, Samuel
ID Number
DL.381554
catalog number
381554
accession number
160248
Two-tined, silver pistol-grip fork with engraved armorial device on hollow handle depicting crest of a mermaid or siren with flowing hair and textured skin in profile proper erased on a ducal coronet and wreath. Straight tines with U-shaped root on smooth baluster shaft.
Description
Two-tined, silver pistol-grip fork with engraved armorial device on hollow handle depicting crest of a mermaid or siren with flowing hair and textured skin in profile proper erased on a ducal coronet and wreath. Straight tines with U-shaped root on smooth baluster shaft. No marks. From a set of 12 knives and 12 forks stored in original shagreen-covered case, 1978.2424.01-.025.
date made
1740 - 1760
ID Number
1978.2424.15
accession number
1978.2424
catalog number
1978.2424.15

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.