Tankard

Edward Winslow (American, 1669–1753)

about 1720–30

Object PlaceBoston, Massachusetts

Medium/TechniqueSilver

Dimensions19.6 x 19.5 x 10.5 cm (7 11/16 x 7 11/16 x 4 1/8 in.)

Credit LineGift of Dorothy B. Hammond in memory of Roland B. Hammond

Accession number1995.801

On View

Not on view

ClassificationsSilver hollowware

Collections

Americas

Description

Silver was produced in Edward Winslow’s shop long after he assumed civic responsibilities with the Ancient and Honorable Artillery Company and as sheriff of Suffolk County from 1716 to 1743. The style of this tankard, with its tapering body and domed lid, indicates that it was probably made during the 1720s or 1730s by either Thomas Mullins, John Banks, or Thomas McCullough, three journeymen known to have worked for Winslow between 1715 and 1742/43.

It is doubtful that Winslow’s shop would have produced such crudely engraved initials as those on this handle, which were probably added later by an untrained hand.

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.

InscriptionsCrude, later initials "E * D" engraved on handle; scratch weight "28 oz 9 dwt 8 gr" on bottom.

ProvenanceThe initials "E * D," combined with oral history of ownership in the Jewett family, points to Edward Dearborn as the probable first owner of the tankard, to wit: Edward Dearborn (1702-1746) and Mary Foss (d. after 1746), both of Greenland, New Hampshire, m. 1724; to their daughter, Mary Dearborn (bp. 1735) and Benjamin Jewett (d. after 1777), m. about 1761; to their son Dearborn Jewett (1765/6-1854) and Mary Furber (1760-1837); m. about 1786; to their son, Capt. Theodore Furber Jewett (b. 1787) and Sarah Orne (d. 1819), m. 1812; to their son, Dr. Theodore H. Hewett (1815-1878) and Caroline Frances Perry (b. 1820) m. 1842; to their daughter, Caroline Augusta Jewett (b. 1855) and Edwin C. Eastman (b. 1849), m. 1878; to their only son, Theodore Jewett Eastman (1879-1931), d. unm.; made a gift to his cousin, Charles French Perry (1833-1897) and Georgianna West Graves (1852-1934) [the latter provided by a descendant] , m. 1872; to their daughter, Elizabeth Lejee Perry (1879-1969) and Henry Hyslop Richardson (1872-1932), son of the Boston architect, m. 1906. [3] Mrs. Richardson transferred ownership to her brother, architect William Graves Perry (1883-1975) and his first wife, Eleanor Bodine (b. 1886), m. 1908. To their son, William Graves Perry, Jr. (1913-1998) and his first wife, Helen Knowles.[4] Purchased by North Andover, Massachusetts, antiques dealer, Roland Bowman Hammond (1917-1993), by descent to his wife, the donor, Dorothy B. Hammond.[5]

1. Arthur Gilman, The Gilman Family Traced in the Line of Hon. John Gilman of Exeter, New Hampshire (Albany, N.Y.: Joel Munsell, 1869), p. 152; Frederick Clarke Jewetrt, History and Genealogy of the Jewetts of America, two volumes. (Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishers, 1908 reprinted __???) David Curtis Dearborn, The Dearborn Family (Boston: NEHGS, forthcoming).

2. Harvard University, Class of 1901, Thirtieth Anniversary Report (Cambridge: Published for the University), p. 123.

3. Obituary, NEHGR 89 (1935):70; Obituary, Boston Globe, December 17, 1969; Massachusetts Vital Records (microfilm) 306:140; 342:94. Ownership in the Richardson and Perry family is documented in Registrar's Department, Museum of Fine Arts.

4. William A. Warden, Warden Family Genealogy: The Ancestors, Kin and Descendant of John Warden and Narcissa (Davis) Warden (Worcester, Ma.: ____ 1901); p. 137; Harvard Class of 1905, Third Report (Cambridge: Published for the University, 1915), p. __; Obituary, NEHGR 87 (1933):59; Bureau of Vital Statistics: death records for William Graves Perry and William Graves Perry, Jr..

5. Bureau of Vital Statistics: death record for Roland Hammond.