Images(3)

Porringer

Dateca. 1760-1790

Maker Benjamin Burt (1729 - 1805)

OriginAmerica, Massachusetts, Boston

MediumSilver

DimensionsOverall: 8 1/4”; Diameter of bowl: 5 5/8"; Height to top of bowl: 1 9/16"

Credit LineBequest of Joseph H. and June S. Hennage

Object number2020-291

DescriptionPorringer with a raised bowl featuring a slightly everted rim, curved sides, and a stepped and domed bottom. Cast keyhole handle soldered at a slightly upward angle to the bowl at the rim.
Label TextPopular as a multi-purpose vessel for food and drink alike, porringers were first made in America during the middle of the 17th century. While the form fell out of favor in most of the colonies by the middle of the 18th century, they were still being made in New England well into the 19th century. This example by one of Boston's most prolific silversmiths of the last half of the18th century, is identical to the "keyhole porringers made in that city decades later.
InscribedTop of handle engraved "M" over "E Z." Bottom engraved with "M" over "D(?) A" (partially erased), and the weight "oz" above "8 : 15."
MarkingsStruck atop the handle with "BENIAMIN / BURT" in italic relief within a crown-shaped cartouche (Kane mark A).