Dish with fish strainer

Dateca. 1760

Maker John Wynne

MediumPewter

DimensionsOL (strainer): 18"; OW (strainer): 13 3/4"; W (rim of strainer): 7/8"; OL (dish): 20 7/8"; OW (dish): 16 1/2"; W (rim of dish): 2 1/8"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1994-104,A&B

DescriptionPewter dish: Cast in one piece; of oval plan with inclined rim of moderate width with plain face and single bead on underside at edge; short concave hammered booge to flat well in center. Strainer: cast in one piece of oval plan with inclined rim of narrow width with plain face and underside; short concave hammered booge to flat well in center; well elaborately drill-pierced with double line in a running guilloche pattern forming an oval; each of the circles contain a lozenge-shaped grid of twenty holes; guilloche border enclosing large lozenge in center framed with three rows of piercings with small lozenge of nine holes in center. Incuse owners' initials "H/IM" stamped on underside of dish and strainer.
Label TextDuring the second quarter of the eighteenth century, London silversmiths introduced pierced plates, usually oval in outline, as a refinement to the dinner service. These strainers were meant to rest above the well of corresponding dishes to permit drainage in the service of fish. These pierced plates are sometimes referred to as mazarines in the period. This name is not without ambiguity, for it was used in regard to other types of dishes at an early date.

Most pewter fish strainers date from the second half of the eighteenth century. Surviving strainers with their matching dishes are uncommon. These latter ensembles include examples by Samuel Ellis of London at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia, one by an unacknowledged maker that was sold at auction in Shrewsbury in 1995, and a further one by John Townsend & Thomas Compton, also sold at auction in 1995. Alex Neish illustrates an oval and a circular example without their dishes, presumably from his own collection, in a brief article on the form. A highly distinctive early circular one, pierced with a large central flower and an outer border of hearts and crowns, bears the touch of Richard Grunwin of London and is in the Neish Collection.

The 1770 inventory of the contents of the Governor's Palace in Williamsburg lists "1 pewter fish Strainer" along with "21 Pewter Dishes & 15 plates" in the kitchen. The arrival in Charleston from London of “pewter oval fish dishes" is advertised in the South Carolina Gazette for Oct. 9, 1749.

InscribedOwners' initials "H/IM" stamped on underside of well of both strainer and dish.
MarkingsTouch mark a lion rampant with three mullets and scrollwork above and scrollwork below enclosed within a tabernacle frame; tabernacle frame consisting of “:IOHN:" on face of arched upper member, a fluted column or pilaster on either side surmounted by a globular teapot facing inward, and ":WYNNE:" on face of base member on underside of well of both strainer and dish (London Touch Plate IV, 923; Cotterell 5331). Secondary marks (1) label "SUPER FINE/HARD METAL" within an oblong reserve of scrolled outline (Cotterell 5331) and (2) quality mark "X" with crown above, both stamped on underside of well of both strainer and dish.
ProvenanceVendor: Thomas C. Campbell, Hawleyville, Connecticut. Acquired by vendor from a dealer in Maine.