Object Number 1982.0089

Object Name

Ladle

Category

Metals

Credit Line/Donor

Museum Purchase

Creator (Role)

Joseph Warner (Maker)
1742-1800

Place of Origin

Wilmington, New Castle, Delaware, Mid-Atlantic, United States, North America

Date

1763-1800

Mark or Signature or Inscription or Label

1. Mark; Handle stem, underside; "J: WARNER" in a conforming rectangle, stamped
2. Inscription; Bowl, edge; a five-pointed star followed by ""[JU] STITIA [ET] CLE[MEN]TIA" in raised relief

Materials

Silver; Baleen

Dimensions (inches)

1.9 (H) , 13.7 (L) , 3.2 (W)

Dimensions (centimeters)

4.8 (H) , 34.8 (L) , 8.2 (W)

Measurement Notes

Width measurement is of bowl.

Object Description

Web - 01/18/2023

Delaware silversmith Joseph Warner rose to prominence with steady patronage from his fellow members of the Society of Friends (Quakers) and other clients who sought silver, fancy goods, and general hardware from his Wilmington shop. This elegant punch ladle incorporates a twisted whale baleen handle, giving it a touch of novelty as well as slightly less weight and more flexibility than a turned wooden handle. The oblong silver bowl offers a further, subtle layer of visual fascination. Warner shaped the bowl directly from an imported silver trade coin minted during the reign of Austria’s Habsburg Empress Maria Theresa (1717–1780). Research by Donald Fennimore confirmed that the distorted, barely detectible letters on the bowl’s edge are “IUSTIA ET CLEMENTIA.” Her motto of Justice and Clemency appeared on coins after 1751. Such Maria-Theresa silver coins (thalers) circulated widely as trade dollars in colonial trade and traveled with European immigrants to the Americas.

Bibliography and Bibliographic Notes

[Book] Belden, Louise C. 1980 Marks of American Silversmiths in the Ineson-Bissell Collection. 506 p.
• An illustrated glossary of spoon terms, pp. 467-488
[Article] Fennimore, Donald L. 03//2023 A Singular Joseph Warner Silver Punch Ladle. Silver Magazine. LV (2): 12-15.
• Published: p. 15, figs. 7-9