Images(11)

Pair of Teaspoons

Date1815-1830

Marked by Peter Bentzon (ca. 1783 - after 1850)

OriginAmerica, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia or Caribbean, St. Croix

MediumSilver

DimensionsOL: 5 1/2"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase, Hugh Trumbull Adams Fund

Object number2017-2,1

DescriptionDownturned fiddle handle tapers to pointed shoulders above pointed oval bowl with shallow incised oval drop on back
Label TextA free man of color, Peter Bentzon was born about 1783 in the Danish West Indies (now the United States Virgin Islands) to a mother of African and European descent and a Norwegian father. Trained as a silversmith in Philadelphia, he worked both in that city and in St. Croix, moving several times between these locations prior to his death sometime after 1850. Less than three dozen objects are known today bearing his touchmarks.
InscribedEngraved "MD" in sprigged script across face of handle.
MarkingsMarked on back of handle in relief "P. BENTZON" in a rectangle