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2022-167, Porringer
"Old English" Handle Porringer
2022-167, Porringer

"Old English" Handle Porringer

Dateca.1790-1810
Maker E.G. or E.C.
OriginAmerica, Massachusetts, Boston (possibly)
MediumPewter
DimensionsOverall: 6 3/8"; Diameter at rim: 4 1/2"; Height: 1 1/2"
Credit LineGift of Scott and Debra Duncan
Object number2022-167
DescriptionPewter porringer with an "Old English" handle lightened by nine apertures, including an upside-down heart and a filled "crescent," supported from below by a hemispherical bracket. Its basin-shaped bowl has an everted rim with a narrow raised band below it, and a raised boss at the bottom. The handle was cast directly onto the vessel, leaving a tell-tale linen mark on the inside of the bowl.
Label TextBelieved to have been made in or near Boston around the turn of the 19th century, pewter students have interpreted the initials cast into these porringers are reading "E.C." However, they may read "E.G.," though cast in retrograde, with reversed letters.
MarkingsA raised "E.G." or "E.C.", in retrograde, cast into the back of the handle.