Punch strainer

Orange strainers, or “cullenders,” were used by the English as early as 1533. In that year, “a Strayner of golde for orrenges X oz” appeared in the inventory of the Royal Jewel House. The scarcity of oranges in England at this early date probably accounts for the special name given to the form, which evolved into “punch strainer” due to not only the rising popularity of that beverage but also the regular shipments of Spanish oranges to England by the mid-eighteenth century.

Some early English strainers resembled large spoons whose bowls were pierced with small holes. A hook opposite the handle was used to secure the utensil to one side of the punch bowl, thereby steadying the user’s hand. In time, versions emerged with two handles, which were long enough to extend across the diameter of period punch bowls. Such forms allowed the juice of oranges and lemons to be introduced into the punch within a restricted area and enabled smooth ladling unencumbered by citrus pulp and seeds. Most bowls were pierced with simple uniform rows, but over time some received elaborately pierced decorative patterns, which guests could admire while waiting to be served. Strainers fell out of fashion in the late eighteenth century, when wine funnels, introduced for the decanting of sediment, were used for citrus fruits as well.

In the colonies, punch strainers typically had two handles, which progressed in style from flat shaped sheets or simple wire to elongated cast versions of porringer handles as well as more delicate forms in the Rococo style. Pierced decoration, achieved with a drill and jeweler’s saw, rapidly progressed from the above-mentioned simple circular arrangements to lively patterns that included text. Jonathan Clarke, of Providence and Newport, made such a strainer for Jabez Bowen of Providence; it bears his name, that of his city, and the date of January 1765 in a circle below the rim and around a flower-shaped central design.

Paul Revere I’s dome-shaped strainer bowl shows the result of successful experimentation with a pierced cross-shaped design, and its plain wire handles are in keeping with its early date.

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.