D2007-CMD-0414: 1982-167 chalice; 1982-166 flagon

Images(2)

C1982-1393: 1982-167 chalice; 1982-166 flagon

Communion flagon

Date1757-1781

Marked by Johann Christopher Heyne (1715 - 1781)

OriginAmerica, Pennsylvania, Lancaster

MediumPewter with (later) silver electroplating

DimensionsOH: 11 1/4"; OW: 7 1/2"; Diam (base exclusive of feet): 5 7/8"; feet: 6 1/4"

Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Foster McCarl, Jr.

Object number1982-166

DescriptionSilverplated pewter communion flagon: Tapering cylindrical body with molded midband and flared base, supported on three cast cherub-head feet; auricular-shaped spout mounted at rim opposite scrolled hollow handle with bud terminal. Double-domed lid with central boss and contoured cover for spout, affixed to handle by hinge with tall scrolled thumbpiece.
Label TextJohann Christoph Heyne (1715-1781), who trained in his native Saxony and worked in Stockholm before migrating from London to Philadelphia in 1742, had established himself by 1752 as a pewterer in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. A deeply and actively religious man, he produced an extraordinary body of church pewter, notable among which is a large number of chalices and flagons, many still owned by their German congregations in southeastern Pennsylvania. In its combination of Continental and Anglo-American elements, Heyne’s work is an important chapter in American pewter of the colonial period. This flagon and its associated chalice (accession 1982-167) were later electroplated with silver.

Johann Christoph Heyne produced some of the most distinctive pewter made in colonial America. It is not known when or why this pair of church vessels by Heyne was electroplated with silver. The electroplating process, perfected about 1840, deposits a coating of silver on a fully-formed object. Prior to electroplating, the objects were probably stripped or buffed to ensure a uniform surface.
MarkingsTouch mark "•I•C•H• " in relief with crown above within a conforming reserve on underside of base (Laughlin 530). Secondary mark "LANCASTER" in relief within a rectangle on underside of base (Laughlin 532).

ProvenanceGift of Mr. and Mrs. Foster McCarl, Jr., Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania.