Pitcher

This pitcher was presented to Ruth Ward in 1859, the year after the death of her husband Nahum. In 1854 she had received from Harding’s shop a silver cup bearing a similar inscription (cat. no. 205).

The energetic, bold, and glittering bright-cut engraving on this large, classically shaped pitcher covers nearly the entire body. Although the engraving appears to be by the same hand, it contrasts sharply with the loose, exuberant style of the engraving on the cup given to Mrs. Ward five years earlier; it also differs greatly from the subtle effect of the fine, delicate chasing of Harding & Co.’s presentation ewer for Colonel Wright (cat. no. 206), dated about the same time. The sweeping scrolls of floral and foliate motifs gradually narrow as they approach the handle, and mannered vertical tendrils extend below the lower foliage.

Because of the widespread popularity of domestic silver presentation gifts, larger retailers probably maintained an inventory of wares, either of their own or others’ manufacture, ready to be engraved or further embellished at the customer’s behest. Without additional elaborate and expensive handmade decoration, this seamed pitcher may have been a less costly stock item.

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.