Soup tureen with cover

Date1809-1810

Maker Thomas Robins (w. ca. 1794-1859)

MediumSilver (Sterling)

DimensionsOH: 12 1/2"; OL: 14 1/4"; Diam(rim): 11 3/4"; Diam(base): 6 1/2"

Credit LineGift of N. Beverley Tucker, Jr.

Object number2002-76,A&B

DescriptionSoup tureen and cover of circular plan; cast handel of foliated paired C-scrolls soldered to top of domed and staged cover; cover of raised construction with broad intermediate band of chased and outlined gadroons and a deep bezel fitting within rim of body; raised hemispherical body with cast and applied gadrooned border soldered at rim and drawn profiled molding soldered at an intermediate position above handles; cast bail handles of neoclassic design with ribbed and acanthus decoration soldered on opposite sides of body; body supported on broad circular foot of pedestal design with narrow band of cast gadroons immediately below attachment with body and broader band of chased gadroons on shoulder of foot.

Coat of arms within a rococo rivival cartouche and mantling with motto within a flowing banner below for the Randolph family of Virginia engraved on opposite sides of body and with the crest of the Randolph family repeated on either side of cover.

Set number "2" stamped on bezel of cover.
Label TextJohn Randolph of Roanoke purchased this tureen as a gift for his revered stepfather, St. George Tucker of Williamsburg, Virginia. It is engraved with the Randolph arms.

InscribedEngraved coat-of-arms on front of body; and on either side of cover with a crest.
MarkingsFully marked on face of foot: (1) maker's mark "TR" in script within a double-lobed reserve (Grimwade 2915), (2) leopard's head crowned, (3) lion passant, (4) date letter "O" for 1809-10, and (5) sovereign's head. Maker's mark, lion passant, and date letter on bezel of cover.
ProvenanceSt. George Tucker (b. 1752-d. 1827) married a Randolph widow, Frances Bland (b. 1752-d. 1788). She had three young Randolph children when she was widowed. She and St. George then had several children, three of whom survived to adulthood: a daughter, Frances Bland (b. 1779-d. 1813), and two sons, Henry St. George (b. 1780-d. 1848) and Nathaniel Beverley (B. 1784-d. 1851)

One of the three Randolph step-children, who became known in adulthood as John Randolph of Roanoke, purchased the tureen and had it engraved with the Randolph coat of arms. It is the donor's understanding that John Randolph gave the tureen to his step-father at approximately the time it was manufactured (1809), presumably as a token of affection and gratitude for his step-father's care of himelf, his mother and the Roanoke Plantation.

After St. George Tucker's death (1827), Nathaniel Beverley became the owner and occupant of the Tucker House until his death (1851). The tureen would, therefore, have been in the Tucker House until Nathaniel Beverley's death, at which time it passed to the donor's great grandfather, Thomas Smith Beverley Tucker of WInchester, then to donor's grandfather, another Nathaniel Beverley of Lexington (b. 1867-d. 1921), and then to donor's father, also Nathaniel Beverley (b. 1909-d. 1996), from whom the donor (N. Beverley Tucker, Jr.) received it before his death.

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