Images(13)

Sauceboat

Dateca. 1810

Marked by John McMullin (1765 - 1843)

OriginAmerica, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

MediumSilver

DimensionsOH (top of handle): 6 5/8”; OL (handle to lip): 8 1/8”; OW (at rim): 4 ½”

Credit LineMuseum Purchase, Hugh Trumbull Adams Fund

Object number2018-283

DescriptionSauceboat. Silver sauceboat by John McMullin; ca. 1810; Philadelphia, PA: Stepped oval foot with narrow gadrooned edge supports deep oval body with wide, everted pouring lip, narrow gadrooned edge, and free-standing C-scroll handle with upper termination in the form of a stylized bird’s head and split-scrolled lower terminal affixed at rim and to body at shield-shaped juncture. Engraved "feathers'" embellish the handle.
Label TextThe free-standing handle of this sauceboat, with its bird’s head and stylized feather pattern, is an exceptional example of the sculptural naturalism found in American silver of the early national period. Although otherwise unadorned, the sauceboat would have made a striking impression on a dining table. It is the first example of silver by John McMullin of Philadelphia to enter the permanent collections of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation.
InscribedVery lightly scratched on bottom of foot: "oz 14=18"
MarkingsMarked in relief on base of body inside of foot with “I•Mc.Mullin” in semi-script, all in a rectangle [the first “M” double struck, and the "c" superscript with period directly below]. Also marked in relief with an eagle displayed, head turned to proper right, clutching a branch, in a conforming punch.