Tankard
Benjamin Burt, American, 1729 - 1805
Boston, Massachusetts
about 1760
Silver
Overall: 8 5/8 in. (21.9 cm)
Base: 5 1/4 in. (13.3 cm)
Lid: 4 1/4 in. (10.8 cm)
Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth: Gift of Louise C. and Frank L. Harrington, Class of 1924
M.968.40
Geography
Place Made: United States, North America
Period
1600-1800
Object Name
Tools and Equipment: Food Service
Research Area
Decorative Arts
Not on view
Inscriptions
Marked at left of handle: BENJAMIN / BURT [in cartouche]; engraved on handle: IDE [D superscript, above stylized cross]
Label
Tankards continued to serve as popular drinking vessels for household and ceremonial use until the end of the 18th century, gradually evolving from a squat, flat-topped form (no. 1) to the more slender, vertical proportions seen in this example. Its domed top is crowned by a twisted flame finial, which is considered a rococo feature and echoes the finials that surmount large case furniture of the same period.
From the 2019 exhibition American Art, Colonial to Modern, curated by Barbara J. MacAdam, Jonathan L. Cohen Curator of American Art
Course History
HIST 9.1, Empires and Colonies in North America, Paul Musselwhite, Fall 2014
Exhibition History
American Art at Dartmouth: Highlights from the Hood Museum of Art, William B. Jaffe and Evelyn A. Jaffe Hall Galleries, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, June 9-December 9, 2007.
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.
American Decorative Art at Dartmouth, Dartmouth College Museum and Galleries, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 10-March 1, 1981, no. 19.
American Silver, Barrows Print Room, Hopkins Center Art Galleries, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, September 27-November 3, 1974.
Colonial Days, Brick Store Museum, Kennebunkport, Maine, July 30-August 3, 1963.
Harrington Silver Case, Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, August 12, 2009-present.
Harrington Silver Case, Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, February 16-June 2, 1978.
Harrington Silver Case, Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 1984.
Harrington Silver Case, Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 30-June 21, 1979.
Harrington Silver Case, Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, June 1-30, 1964.
Harrington Silver Case, Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, May 14-August 15, 1976.
Massachusetts Silver of the Colonial Period, Strauss Gallery, Hopkins Center Art Galleries, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, June 1972.
New England Silver at Dartmouth College: A Tribute to Frank L. Harrington, Class of 1924, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, June 3-August 20, 1989, no. 10.
William Hogarth and the Serpentine l'Line of Beauty, Harrington Silver Case, Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, August 28-December 5, 1980.
Publication History
Barbara J. MacAdam, New England Silver at Dartmouth College: A Tribute to Frank L. Harrington, Class of 1924, Hanover, New Hampshire: Trustees of Dartmouth College, 1989, no. 10.
Kathryn C. Buhler, Massachusetts Silver in the Frank L. and Louise C. Harrington Collection, Worcester, Massachusetts: Barre Publishers, 1965, p. 76-84, ill. 79.
Margaret J. Moody, American Decorative Arts at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire: Trustees of Dartmouth College, 1981, no. 19.
Patricia E. Kane, Colonial Massachusetts Silversmiths and Jewlers, Hanover: University Press of New England, p. 224-240, 1998.
Barbara J. MacAdam, American Art at Dartmouth: Highlights from the Hood Muesum of Art, Hanover: Trustees of Dartmouth College, 2007, p. 191, no. 160.
Provenance
Clifford D. Hanson (1904-1983) [dealer], Westboro, Massachusetts; sold to Frank L. Harrington, Sr. (1902-1988) and Louise Cronin Harrington (1904-2000), Worcester, Massachusetts, February 3, 1957; given to present collection, 1968.
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