Chafing dish
Paul Revere, Sr.
(American (born in France, baptized Apollos Rivoire), 1702–1754)
About 1740–50
Object PlaceBoston, Massachusetts, United States
Medium/TechniqueSilver; replaced wood handle
Dimensions31.7 x 20 cm (12 1/2 x 7 7/8 in.)
Credit LinePauline Revere Thayer Collection
Accession number35.1756
ClassificationsSilver hollowware
ProvenanceEngraving may stand for William and Rebecca White of Haverhill, Masaachusetts; he died childless in 1773 and the estate was divided among his brothers and sisters. In Goss biography of Revere (1891), he gave the piece as the property of D. F. Appleton, and the exhibition in Jamestown (1907) recorded the initials as Revere II's second wife, an attribution unfamiliar to their descendant, Mrs. Thayer. The unusual double initials for the man fit Thomas James Grouchy, who was married to Mary Dumaresq in Trinity Church on Oct. 11, 1741, but no one of the surname can be found in later records. The same initials are on a caster by John Burt, carefully concealed by crosshatching, and on a sugar bowl by the patriot (Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut). Similar chafing dishes are by John Burt (Metropolitan Museum of Art), Samuel Burt (62.809); similar inner plates have been made by Jacob Hurd (60.1467)
