Images(5)

Cup

Dateca. 1730

Attributed to John Blowers (1710/11 - 1748)

Secondary Maker Israel Trask

OriginAmerica, Massachusetts, Boston

MediumSilver

DimensionsOH: 5 5/16" OH with handle: 5 1/2" OW: 4 1/16" OW with handle: 6"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase, Hugh Trumbull Adams in memory of his parents, Hugh Leander Adams and Mary Trumbull Adams

Object number2010-10

DescriptionCup (formerly a two-handled cup; one handle removed in 1809): Baluster-shaped body with applied stepped base and molded band at lip; one hollow S-scroll handle with slight grip to left of engraved inscription on body. Although unmarked, the cup is attributed to John Blowers, Boston silversmith and son of the original donor.
Label TextThese two vessels were part of the communion silver of the First Church of Beverly, Massachusetts. The circa 1718 cup on the left (2010-9) was formerly a beaker without handles, and the circa 1730 cup on the right (2010-10) was originally made with two handles. Surviving records document an 1809 decision to alter these two objects. The church paid Israel Trask, a local silversmith and pewterer, $1.75 to remove one handle from the Blowers cup and attach it to the Briscoe beaker, making them easier to pass among communicants.
InscribedEngraved in script on body to right of remaining handle: "The Legacy of the Revnd: Mr: Tho: Blowers / to the First Church in Beverly / decd: June the 17th 1729"
ProvenanceThe donor of the cup, Thomas Blowers (d. 1729), married Emma Elliott (1664-1716) in 1702. Their son was silversmith John Blowers, the probable maker of this cup.