Ewer and Basin
Unknown Artist
P over M
1567–68
Object PlaceLondon, England
Medium/TechniqueSilver, parcel gilt
DimensionsOverall (Ewer): 33.8 x 10.9 cm, 1247.4 gm (13 5/16 x 4 5/16 in., 44 oz.)
Overall (Basin): 5.4 x 50 cm, 3047.7 gm (2 1/8 x 19 11/16 in., 107.5 oz.)
Overall (Basin): 5.4 x 50 cm, 3047.7 gm (2 1/8 x 19 11/16 in., 107.5 oz.)
Credit LineJohn H. and Ernestine A. Payne Fund, Theodora Wilbour Fund in memory of Charlotte Beebe Wilbour and funds by exchange from an Anonymous gift in memory of Charlotte Beebe Wilbour (1833-1914), Bequest of Frank Brewer Bemis, the M. and M. Karolik Collection of 18th-century American Arts, Gift of G. Churchill Francis, Gift of the Trustees of Reservation—Estate of Mrs. John Gardner Coolidge, Gift of Phillips Ketchum in memory of John R. Macomber, Gift of Mrs. Richard Cary Curtis, Gift in memory of Dr. William Hewson Baltzell by his wife, Alice Cheney Baltzell, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Richard Storey in memory of Mr. Richard Cutts Storey, Gift of Mrs. John B. Sullivan, Jr., Gift of Mrs. Heath-Jones, Bequest of Charles Hitchcock Tyler, Gift of Miss Caroline M. Dalton, Bequest of Clara Bennett, Maria Antoinette Evans Fund, Gift of Miss E. E. P. Holland
Accession number1979.261-262
On View
Not on viewClassificationsSilver
Collections
This ewer and basin is engraved with the portraits of all the sovereigns of England up to and including Elizabeth I (reigned 1558-1603), for whom the set may have been made. The engraved scenes between the royal portraits depict Old Testament subjects based on Bernard Saloman's illustrated Bible, published in Lyons in 1553.
InscriptionsEngraved twice in central medallion of basin, engraver's monogram P over MProvenancePhilip Herbert (b. 1584 - d. 1650), 4th Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery; to his widow, Anne Clifford (b. 1590 - d. 1676), Dowager Countess of Dorset, Pembroke, and Montgomery; by inheritance through her daughter, Margaret Sackville (b. 1614 - d. 1676), to her son, Nicholas Tufton (b. 1631 - d. 1679), 3rd Earl of Thanet. Sold by Crichton Brothers, London, to J. Pierpont Morgan (b. 1837 - d. 1913), New York; by inheritance to his son, J. Pierpont Morgan, II (b. 1867-d. 1943); November 1, 1947, posthumous J. P. Morgan sale, Parke Bernet, New York, lot 466 [see note], to C. Ruxton Love (b. 1903- d. 1971), New York. 1979, sold by S.J. Shrubsole, New York, to the MFA. (Accession Date: May 16, 1979)NOTE: According to the auction catalogue, the ewer and basin had descended in the family of Anne Hyde (b. 1637 - d. 1671), Duchess of York and Albany, but this cannot be substantiated.
Unidentified artist
16th century
