Ladle (Soup ladle)

Description

This ladle bearing the mark of Philadelphia pewterer William Will is one of very few surviving examples of eighteenth-century American pewter ladles. Stylistically this ladle is exemplary for its arched, tapered handle and bowl with a slightly flattened center, both details are modifications from the handle and bowl designs of the early 1700s. Ladles were useful and easily cast and recast in metal molds, but the fragile nature of their narrow long-stemmed handles and the recyclability of pewter are probable causes for the small remainder today. It could be argued that this ladle also was preserved because it was marked by William Will. During his professional craft career, which was interrupted by service in the Revolutionary War, he produced pewter objects of distinctive quality and individuality. Although most recognized by collectors and scholars for his teapot and vessel forms, ladles and other flatware were part of his workshop’s typical products.