Tankard

Date1764-1798

Artist/Maker William Will

OriginAmerica, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

MediumPewter

DimensionsOH: 7 7/8"; Diam (base): 4 7/16"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1959-414

DescriptionTankard: round-topped double-domed cover with paired incised circles in center of top, incised molding at edge, and short bezel on underside fitting within rim of body; baluster-shaped body with plain rim and fillet mid-band below center around bulbous lower section; shaped thumbpiece with ogee-shaped cresting and heart-shaped piercing in center extending vertically at right angles from upper hinge plate soldered to cover; lower hinge plate with face molded parallel with joint and plain raised panel below with raised tip mounted on handle face; conventional S-scroll tankard handle of D-shaped section with bud terminal; body supported on broad circular domed base with molding at edge. Uninscribed as to owner.
Label TextWilliam Will, the fourth son of the pewterer John Will, was born in Germany in 1742. He learned his trade from his father and brother Henry in New York City before moving to Philadelphia with his brother Philip in the early 1760s. Will distinguished himself as an officer in the Revolution and served in the General Assembly of Pennsylvania. He produced a prodigious amount of important domestic and ecclesiastical pewter before his death in 1798. Tankards and mugs of baluster or tulip form were particular specialties of the Philadelphia pewterers and especially of Will.
InscribedNone
MarkingsTouch mark "Wm WILL" within a serrated rectangle on interior center-bottom of base (Laughlin 539).
ProvenanceVendor: Thomas D. & Constance R. Williams, Litchfield, Connecticut.