Porringer

Acquired in 1901, this modest keyhole-handled porringer was omitted by Kathryn C. Buhler from her two-volume catalogue of the Museum’s silver published in 1972, probably on the grounds that it fell outside the temporal boundaries of her book. It is included here as a representative example of a form that enjoyed a long popularity in this country.

The little-known firm of Davis, Watson & Co. was working in Boston in 1820 and consisted of the partnership of Samuel Davis, Edward Watson, and Bartlett M. Bramhill. Davis, active in Boston as a jeweler as early as 1807, and Watson may have been in partnership as early as 1815. By 1825 the Boston Directory indicates that they were “importers.”

The Museum’s collection also includes a pair of sugar tongs (1971.317) and a tablespoon (1971.318) by the same firm.

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.