Tankard
Date1765 (dated)
Marked by
Samuel Casey
((ca. 1724 - ca. 1773))
MediumSilver
DimensionsOH: 8 3/4"; D(base): 5 1/16"; Width with handle: 7 5/8"
Credit LineMuseum Purchase
Object number1959-253
DescriptionStraight-sided tankard with molding at base and rim, stepped, domed cover with cast finial and scroll thumbpiece at molded hinge on slim S-scroll handle with oval mask terminalLabel TextLike most Rhode Island tankards, this example marked by Samuel Casey of Little Rest has an unusually slender handle when compared with the work of other New England silversmiths from the third quarter of the eighteenth century. It is engraved “D / I * P” in block letters on its handle and “John & Priscila Douglass / Octr. 14.th 1765.” in script on its base, but its original owners are not identified.
Samuel Casey is a romantic figure among students of American silver. After a disastrous fire at his home and workshop, he fell on hard times and began counterfeiting coinage. He was arrested, convicted, and sentenced to hang in 1770. Within days, he was broken out of prison by his fellow townsmen and fled the colony, never to be seen again.
Inscribed"John & Priscilia Douglass / Octr. 14.th 1765." in script letters engraved on underside of base and "D / I*P" in block letters engraved on face of handle
Scratch weight "52/_" on base
MarkingsMaker's mark "S: CASEY" in block letters in relief within a rectangle on underside of base
ProvenanceExcept for names of original owners, John and Priscilia Douglass, none known.
Samuel Casey (ca. 1724- after 1779) may have served his apprenticeship with Jacob Hurd in Boston before establishing himself as a silversmith in Exeter and South Kingston, Rhode Island. He worked with his brother Gideon Casey from 1753-1763. Casey was arrested, tried, convicted, and sentenced to death for counterfeiting coins. He was released by a mob the night before he was scheduled to hang. In 1779, his wife sibmitted a petition for amnesty, as he had "wandered in exile nine years forlorn and forsaken and destitute of every means of support... separated from his wife and offspring."
