Images(7)

Sugar Tongs

Dateca. 1820-1838

Maker Asa Blanchard (fl. 1789 - 1838)

OriginAmerica, Kentucky, Lexington

MediumSilver, silver gilt

DimensionsOL: 6" OH bend: 15/16" OW opening: 1 5/8"

Credit LineGift of Mark Gaines

Object number2016-24

DescriptionSilver sugar tongs of wrought bow form with cast and gilt five-appendage bird claw grips soldered to the arms. The letter “C” engraved in script horizontally on the bend. Marked AB within a rectangle on the inside of each arm.
Label TextTo date there are only six other known pairs of sugar tongs made by Asa Blansett / Blanchard. Of those, none illustrates the use of claw grips. Sugar tongs with claw grips begin to turn up in the American silver vocabulary around 1820. Given Asa Blanchard’s working dates, this pair was most likely made no later than 1838 when Blanchard died. Not only does the object add to our collection of American silver made in the South, but it also provides an example of a transitional form made by a silversmith who bridged changes in style from the “neat and plain” (the arms of the tongs) to the more robust style (bird claw grips) that prevailed in the 19th century.
Inscribed"C" engraved in script on bend
MarkingsMarked AB within a rectangle on the inside of each arm.