1956.0009.001 Pewter porringer
  • 1956.0009.001 Pewter porringer
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Porringer

  • Category:

    Metals

  • Creator (Role):

    David Melville (Maker)

  • Place of Origin:

    Newport, Newport, Rhode Island, New England, United States, North America

  • Date:

    1779-1793

  • Materials:

    Pewter

  • Techniques:

    Cast

  • Museum Object Number:

    1956.0009.001


  • Complete Details



Object Number

1956.0009.001

Object Name

Porringer

Category

Metals

Credit Line/Donor

Museum purchase

Creator (Role)

David Melville (Maker)
1755-11/22/1793
David Melville served as an ensign in Captain Lemuel Bailey's company of Colonel Lipitt's Rhode Island regiment. He opened his shop on Thames Street, probably around 1779 when the British withdrew from Newport. In 1783 he moved to Long-Wharf. Laughlin reproduces the extensive inventory of David's shop taken at the time of his death. David's brothers likely used his marks when they took over the business at his death (Laughlin, vol.1, p.91-92). David's brothers Samuel and Thomas, and his son Thomas, were also Newport pewterers. For more on David Melville's marks, see Carl Jacobs, Guide to American Pewter (1957), p.134-136; C. Jordan Thorn, Handbook of American Silver and Pewter Marks (1949), p.268; Ebert, Collecting American Pewter (1973), p.137; and Montgomery, History of American Pewter (1973), p.225. See also Laughlin, Pewter in America, vol.1, p.91-95.

Place of Origin

Newport, Newport, Rhode Island, New England, United States, North America

Date

1779-1793

Mark or Signature or Inscription or Label

1. Mark; Handle, topside center; "D:M" in a rectangle, stamped

Materials

Pewter

Techniques

Cast

Dimensions (inches)

2.125 (H) , 7.875 (W) , 5.375 (Diam)

Dimensions (centimeters)

5.397 (H) , 20.003 (W) , 13.652 (Diam)

Measurement Notes

The diameter is of the bowl rim. The height listed above is at the tip of the handle. The height at the top of the bowl's rim is 1.875 inches.

Object Description

Text available soon.

Bibliography and Bibliographic Notes

[Book] Montgomery, Charles F. 1973 A History of American Pewter.
Published: figs. 9-1, 9-2 (handle bracket) and 9-7, pp.146-148; 151-152 and 154
[Book] The Pewter Collectors' Club of America Inc. 1984 Pewter in American Life.
Published: p. 72