Sauce pan

Description

This deep lidded sauce pan or pot was among the more common household forms made by eighteenth and early nineteenth century coppersmiths and tinplate workers. It is constructed from sheets of copper, with cramped and braized seams, and reinforced at the opening by a hidden iron wire. The surface is polished and the interior lacks the coating of tin that would have enabled its use for food preparation. Although condition overall is good, the body and flat strap handle are slightly asymmetrical in profile. Visible signs of earlier repair indicate the handle received a strong impact that necessitated reshaping of the handle tab and rivet on one side. The strap handle retains the maker's mark on the apex of the bail. The mark in a serrated border, "I. WITMAN" likely represents a coppersmith working in Kutztown, Berks County, Pennsylvania in 1804, possibly as early as 1784.