Images(3)

"Old English" Handle Porringer

Dateca.1755-1782

Maker Thomas Danforth II

OriginAmerica, Connecticut, Middletown

MediumPewter

DimensionsOverall: 6 3/8"; Diameter at rim: 4 1/2"; Height: 1 9/16"

Credit LineGift of Scott and Debra Duncan

Object number2022-168

DescriptionPewter porringer with an "Old English" handle lightened by nine apertures, including an upside-down heart and a modified "bowtie," supported from below by a triangular bracket. Its bellied bowl has an everted rim and a raised boss surrounded by a recess at the bottom. The handle was cast directly onto the vessel, leaving a tell-tale linen mark on the inside of the bowl.
Label TextOnly living to see his 52nd birthday, Danforth founded a dynasty of pewterers which spanned eighteen descendants and four generations. When he died in 1782, his estate was valued at £2200, attesting to his success as a metalworker, and his name is still associated with pewter wares today.

Few porringers by this Thomas Danforth are known, though the molds used to produce it remained in use by his progeny for decades. Commonly referred to as having an "Old English" handle, its design comes straight from identical British porringers made between the late 17th century and about 1750. In America, they were made until the middle part of the 19th century.
MarkingsA rampant lion facing left with the initials "TD" flanking his standing leg. All in relief within a circle (Jacobs-114). Stamped on the top of the handle, the lower 40% of the mark is now illegible.