Images(10)

Sugar Dish

Date1800-1815

Marked by John Adam (1775 - 1848)

OriginAmerica, Virginia, Alexandria

MediumSilver

DimensionsOH: 8 7/8”; OW: 6”; OD: 4 1/2”

Credit LineMuseum Purchase, Robert F. Grossman and The Friends of Colonial Williamsburg Collections Fund

Object number2015-144

DescriptionOval stepped foot supports broad oval urn shaped body with narrow incurving shoulder and plain rim. Conforming domed lid is surmounted by an oval urn-shaped finial surmounted by a small floral knop.
Label TextJohn Adam was part of a silversmithing dynasty working in Alexandria, Virginia, from 1775 until the early twentieth century. Over a span of almost forty years, Adam advertised frequently, noting that he imported from New York and Philadelphia a wide range of fancy goods and jewelry, as well as making and mending silver. Spoons, ladles, and sugar tongs were mainstays of his production, supplemented by smaller quantities of tea wares, mugs, and specialty items like spectacles.

The broad horizontal stance of this sugar dish is indicative of its early nineteenth-century date. Although substantial in size, the simplicity of its form and ornament harkens back to the restraint of neoclassicism. The sugar dish features a simple reeded band at its rim and a small bud knop atop its urn-shaped finial. Its only other embellishment is the large sprigged monogram “PES”, executed in a manner typical of the fluid style of engraving found on Virginia silver from this period.

As Virginia’s population and commerce centers began shifting in the late 18th century, Alexandria became an important port city along the Potomac River. It experienced a zenith in silversmith activity between 1790 and 1815 due to its proximity to the nation’s new capital, Washington D.C.

InscribedLarge sprigged script monogram "PES" on one side of body.
MarkingsMarked twice on footrim in relief "JA" in script in an oval.
ProvenancePurchased from S. J. Shrubsole, January 2015

Sotheby's, The Collection of Roy and Ruth Nutt: Highly Important American Silver, New York, January 24, 2015; Sale N09304, lot 546.

Purchased by the Nutt family from Jackson/Gillooly, October 1985.