Creampot

This Rococo-style creamer by Benjamin Hurd, with its scalloped rim and elegant extended spout, has been made in the economical manner often found in the work of Boston silversmiths. Like this example, many Boston creamers have curved spouts that are applied to their raised forms with an overlapping scarf joint. The approach follows the tradition of previous decades, when small, pinched, V-shaped spouts were added to pear-shaped bodies. This method neatly solved the problem of raising a vessel in the new, asymmetrical style featuring an integral spout, which would otherwise have required a disproportionate amount of silver, much of which would have been sawn away, to form the pouring lip. With the loss of silver surface through polishing, the telltale U-shaped shadow of solder marks can sometimes be discerned.

This practice was handed down in at least two instances, by Paul Revere I to his son and, as demonstrated in this example, by Jacob Hurd to his son Benjamin.

This text has been adapted from "Silver of the Americas, 1600-2000," edited by Jeannine Falino and Gerald W.R. Ward, published in 2008 by the MFA. Complete references can be found in that publication.