Spoon
Artist/Culture
Thomas Hammersley
American, 1727 – 1781
Datemid 18th century
Mediumsilver
Dimensions20 cm (7 7/8 in.)
ClassificationsMetalwork
Credit LineGift of Miss Frances Lincoln
Object number1917.178
DescriptionWeight: 1 oz. 12 dwt.; ribbed handle, marked A M (Anna Merrick); bowl split, drop and shell on back of bowl; mark: T H in a serrated rectangleLabel TextIn the tradition of European craft guilds, silversmithing was a regulated trade in colonial America. Only master artisans who had completed a seven-year apprenticeship and additional training as independent journeymen could run their own workshops. They, in tunr, hired apprentices and journeymen to help produce items. Some master smiths, including Samuel Vernon of Newport, Rhode Island, and Thomas Hammersley of New York City, also used enslaved laborers in their shops.Multiple hands likely worked on this tankard and spoon—shaping, casting, soldering, burnishing, and decorating the silver. Yet only Vernon and Hammersley's marks or signatures are stamped on the objects, leaving the other contributors unknown and unacknowledged. This also reflects the Western tendency to privilege the individual artist.ProvenanceMiss Frances Lincoln, Worcester, MA
On View
On viewCurrent Location
- Exhibition Location Gallery 3001
