Bowl

Description

This small pewter bowl was made by Philadelphia pewterer William Will who produced a wide range of domestic wares displaying his technical expertise. A partially struck “WW” mark appears at the center of the interior of the bowl, matching one of Will’s known marks. Measuring just over six inches in diameter, this bowl would have been known as a pint basin for its measuring capacity. As a common form with moderate depth and a molded double-reed rim, the pint basin was standardized for everyday household use. It may have once accompanied similar bowls of graduated size that could nest together, as eight, nine, and ten and a half inch basins. Of those, pint and quart (eight-inch) size basins were likely used as breakfast bowls, or alongside tea service to collect the tea leaf dregs. Larger bowls also served as wash basins. The bowl shows signs of long and active use. Scratches of varying depth across the interior—which may be associated with a life of food service—are typical wear for the soft, malleable alloy. Two cracks in the rim and several dents around the base likely occurred later in its life, possibly from impact or the natural stresses of household work. Today, the pint basin contributes to our understanding of utilitarian domestic vessel forms from eighteenth-century America, as well as the craftsmanship of one of the nation’s most notable pewterers.