Images(5)

Pepper Box

Dateca. 1741

Marked by John Blowers (1710/11 - 1748)

OriginAmerica, Massachusetts, Boston

MediumSilver alloy

DimensionsOH: 3 3/4"; OW (incl. handle): 2 3/4"; OD: 1 7/8"

Credit LineLoaned by Mrs. Joseph Hennage

Object number2020-325,a&b

DescriptionSeamed octagonal pepper box with straight sides and slightly flared; two applied narrow bands at base and top of body align with upper and lower juncture of slender S-scrolled handle with furl at apex. Pressure-fitted conforming stepped and domed lid is pierced with dots, asterisks, and teardrops and is surmounted by small disk- and ball-shaped finial. An asterisk is engraved on bezel of lid to indicate alignment with handle.
Label TextAn unusual legacy, this pepper box was given to Dorothy Smithson Russell (1698–1755) of Guilford, Connecticut, in honor of her nephew Samuel Eliot (1716–1741). A physician, Eliot was a 1735 graduate of Yale College; he had taken a sea voyage in hopes of restoring his failing health.
InscribedEngraved on side of body opposite handle in semi-script “Given to D: Russell / in Remembrance of her / Nephew Sam:ll Eliot / Who Died upon the Coast of Africa 1st Jan:y / 1741 Æ 24.” [Note that "ll" in Sam:ll and "y" in Jan:y are super script]
MarkingsMarked in relief on base in semi-script: "IBlowers" in a rectangle [note that I and B are conjoined to form a barred B]