Images(4)

Plate

Date1806-1815

Artist/Maker George Lightner (1749-1815)

OriginAmerica, Maryland, Baltimore

MediumPewter

DimensionsD: 8 3/4"; W (rim): 1 1/8"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1993-79

DescriptionCircular pewter plate with single reed rim
Label TextGeorge Lightner worked as a tavern keeper and carpenter before advertising himself as a tinsmith and pewterer in an 1806 Baltimore newspaper. British pewter was among the wares most frequently imported to colonial America, but American-made pewter became more prevalent in the 19th century. Pewter was affordable while maintaining a level of respectability and was considered a useful alternative to fragile ceramics. Both tavern keepers and home owners used it in virtually every form.
InscribedNo
MarkingsTouch mark an American eagle displayed with a vertically striped and starred shield superimposed on its body and holding an olive branch in its right talons and a cluster of arrows in its left talons with "G LIGHTNER." above and "BALTIMORE" below within a serrated circle stamped twice on underside of well (Laughlin 567).
ProvenanceVendor: John Carl Thomas, Hanover, Connecticut.

Exhibition(s)