Porringer

Inscriptions

Engraved on handle: L /IM / 1765 [later addition]; marked under handle: S. BARTLETT in rectangle]/ JL [in cursive, in rectangle]

Label

Porringers were shallow bowls used to serve a variety of foods and drink. Because they were well suited for feeding children, they later became popular christening gifts. The “keyhole”-style handle of this porringer (named for the cutout at the handle’s tip) was the most common handle design used in New England porringers from the second quarter of the 18th century until well into the 19th century.

This porringer bears the marks of two silversmiths, Samuel Bartlett of Concord, Massachusetts, and Joseph Loring of Boston. Scholars have theorized that Bartlett may have made these pieces and that the more properous Loring, with his extensive inventory of silver and jewelry, retailed them to the larger Boston market.

From the 2019 exhibition American Art, Colonial to Modern, curated by Barbara J. MacAdam, Jonathan L. Cohen Curator of American Art

Porringers are small silver bowls with handles inspired by floral motifs. A parent could hold the bowl’s decorative handle in one hand and still use a spoon to feed a child, making these small silver bowls popular as christening gifts among the upper class. The porringer in this case bears the marks of two silversmiths, Samuel Bartlett of Concord, Massachusetts, and Joseph Loring of Boston. Scholars have theorized that Bartlett may have made these pieces and that the more prosperous Loring, with his extensive inventory of silver and jewelry, retailed them to the larger Boston market. Other pieces of silver in this case include floral decoration, including the sugar tongs—a form inextricably linked to enslaved people’s production of sugar in the period.

Can you find the other flowers in this case? And yes, the Paul Revere who made these two spoons is the same one you read about in the history books.

From the 2024 exhibition Beyond the Bouquet: Arranging Flowers in American Art, curated by Michael Hartman, Jonathan Little Cohen Associate Curator of American Art

Exhibition History

American Art, Colonial to Modern, Israel Sack Gallery and Rush Family Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 26, 2019-September 12, 2021.

Beyond the Bouquet: Arranging Flowers in American Art, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, December 18, 2024 - late 2025.

The Rococco Style in New England Silver, The Harrington Silver Case, Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, June 17, 2014.

Publication History

Patricia E. Kane, Colonial Massachusetts Silversmiths and Jewelers (New Haven: Yale University Art Gallery, 1998), 181, 670.

Provenance

Harriette G. Miller of Whimsey Antiques, Arlington, VT, by 1967 (her advertisement illustrating the porringer appeared in the August 1967 issue of Antiques Magazine, p. 139); possibly Stephen Ensko (New York dealer, 1897–1969); possibly sold to his frequent customer Marjorie Doyle Rockwell, Loudonville, New York (1910–1995), until 1995; sold at Northeast Auctions, Manchester, N.H., “Important New Hampshire Auction : The Collection of Marjorie Doyle Rockwell, Loudonville, New York,” lot 429 (color illus.), November 5, 1995, to M. Elaine Tefft and Stanton E. Tefft (d. 2003); given to present collection, 2013.

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