Images(7)

Saucepan

Dateca. 1750-1760

Maker Nathaniel Hurd (1729/30 - 1777)

OriginAmerica, Massachusetts, Boston

MediumSilver and wood

DimensionsWidth across handle: 8 7/16"; Height: 2 13/16"; Diameter at lip: 3 1/2"

Credit LineBequest of Joseph H. and June S. Hennage

Object number2020-273

DescriptionSilver saucepan with a low beaker-shaped body set atop a moulded foot ring, with an everted and thickened lip. Its turned wooden handle (replaced) is pinned into a socket which joins the body with a teardrop-shaped escutcheon.
Label TextCreated by the second son of silversmithing patriarch Jacob Hurd, this saucepan is thought to be unique among the fifty or so identified pieces of Nathaniel Hurd's work. He is known as one of Boston's finest engravers and is responsible for many bookplates and trade cards, the primary focus of his business.

Though Nathaniel died in his late forties, contributing to the scarcity of his surviving silver work, pre-Revolutionary American saucepans are a seldom encountered form. More popular in colder climates like New England, saucepans were often made with a cover, and were used in conjunction with a chafing dish to keep liquids warm at the table.

Thomas Hubbard, (1702-1773), Treasurer of Harvard College and Commissary General of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, is believed to have been the original owner of this piece. It is the only American silver saucepan in Colonial Williamsburg's collection.
InscribedEngraved "T + Hubbard" in italics, on the bottom.
MarkingsMarked "N•Hurd" in relief within a shaped cartouche below the rim to the left of the handle socket junction (Kane mark A).
ProvenancePossibly owned by Thomas Hubbard (1702-1773), Treasurer of Harvard College and Commissary General of the Province of Massachusetts Bay.
Purchase from Jonathan Trace on December 1, 1996.