Porringer

Museum Object Number 1965.2499

Object Name

Porringer

Category

Metals

Credit Line/Donor

Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont

Creator (Role)

Frederick Bassett (Maker)

Creator Notes

Frederick Bassett is the younger brother of Francis II, son of John, nephew of Francis I. Frederick became a freeman in 1769. He moved from New York to Hartford during the years when the city was occupied by the British (1780-1785), and then returned to New York. His father, John, left his pewter-making tools and shop to Frederick. From Montgomery: "Several surviving bills of the 1770's from Frederick Bassett to Hinman and Osborn of Woodbury, Connecticut, record his substantial wholesale trade with these merchants with charges for pint mugs at 2s. 2d. (28 cents), quart mugs at 3s. 6d. (47 cents), and tankards at 5s. (66 cents) each in an era when skilled craftsmen were paid 7s. 6d. (a dollar) a day" (p.105). Bassett's work is typical of early eighteenth-century pewter. For more on Frederick Bassett's marks, see Kauffman, The American Pewterer (1970), p.133; Montgomery, History of American Pewter (1973), p.216; Ebert, Collecting American Pewter (1973), p.123; Laughlin, Pewter in America (1981), vol.2, plate LIX; Carl Jacobs, Guide to American Pewter (1957), p.33-34; and C. Jordan Thorn, Handbook of American Silver and Pewter Marks (1949), p.239. See also John Carl Thomas, Connecticut Pewter and Pewterers (1976), p.28; Laughlin, Pewter in America, vol.2, p.5-8 and vol.3, p.98-101; and J.B. Kerfoot, American Pewter (1942), p.76-78.

Date of Birth

1740

Date of Death

1800

Place of Origin

Hartford or New York, Connecticut or New York, New England or Mid-Atlantic, United States, North America

Origin Notes

The creation place was identified as New York City and Hartfard by Montgomery.

Date

1761-1800

Mark or Signature or Inscription or Label

1. Mark; Underside of handle; "F·B" with a fleur-de-lis above and below stamped in a circle with a beaded border.

Materials

Pewter

Techniques

Cast

Dimensions (inches)

1.89 (H) , 7.559 (W) , 5.118 (Diam)

Dimensions (centimeters)

4.8 (H) , 19.2 (W) , 13 (Diam)

Object Description

Text available soon.

Bibliography and Bibliographic Notes

[Book] Montgomery, Charles F. 1973 A History of American Pewter.
• Published: fig. 9-1, pp.146-147