Plate

  • Category:

    Metals

  • Creator (Role):

    David Melville (Maker)

  • Place of Origin:

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

  • Date:

    1791-1832

  • Materials:

    Pewter

  • Techniques:

    Cast

  • Museum Object Number:

    1960.0946


  • Complete Details



Object Number

1960.0946

Object Name

Plate

Category

Metals

Credit Line/Donor

Bequest of Henry Francis du Pont

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

1791-1832

Mark or Signature or Inscription or Label

1. Mark ; Underside; "E IN NEWPO / D:MELVIL" stamped in a partial circle with a five-lobed flower at the center, partially effaced.
2. Mark ; Underside; Anchor flanked by stars stamped in rectangle.
3. Mark ; Underside; Golden fleece stamped in rectangle.
4. Mark; Underside; Four-petaled flower stamped in rectangle.

Materials

Pewter

Techniques

Cast

Dimensions (inches)

0.709 (H) , 8.268 (Diam)

Dimensions (centimeters)

1.8 (H) , 21 (Diam)

Object Description

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