Images(6)

Chafing Dish

Dateca. 1730

Marked by John Burt (1692/93 - 1745/46)

OriginAmerica, Massachusetts, Boston

MediumSilver, wood

DimensionsOL: 12 ¼" (including handle) OH: 4" (including handle), Diameter: 6 1/8"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase, The Friends of Colonial Williamsburg Collections Fund

Object number2012-24,A-D

DescriptionCircular, with pierced sides, on three hoof feet, with three scroll dish supports, the turned wood handle set in cylindrical silver socket.
Label TextA chafing dish, or brazier, was a practical accessory for dining and smoking. The pierced central grate held burning embers and knops on the upper edge of the dish could support a plate. With such a device, food was kept warm at the table. In the summer, when household fireplaces were not used, it contained fuel for lighting pipes.

Most American chafing dishes hail from Boston, where they were often produced in pairs. Although numerous sets are documented, few remain together today. This example was fashioned circa 1730 by John Burt, patriarch of a prominent Boston dynasty of silversmiths.

Keeping food hot at the dining table was difficult. Chafing dishes were a popular choice, especially in early New England. Saucepans, with or without lids, remained a prevalent form into the 19th century in the mid-Atlantic and South.
InscribedThe base with trace of original monogram I*W, and another monogram M/J:M, and later engraved with inscription "John C. Phillips from his Mother Nov. 5, 1915. From the Philips family old silver" under the base.
MarkingsMarked on base in relief "I BURT" in shaped rectangle, twice with Kane mark B