Benjamin Bunker
Porringer

CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Porringer
Datec. 1772–1820
Made inNantucket, Massachusetts, United States
MediumSilver
Dimensions2 1/16 × 5 1/4 × 7 5/8 in. (5.2 × 13.3 × 19.4 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of Miss Ima Hogg
Object numberB.61.20
Current Location
Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Metals Study Room
Exposé

Explore Further

Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
Description

Once the silversmith's trade became firmly established, some craftsmen migrated from urban centers to less densely populated areas. There they benefited from less competition but, concomitantly, had to contend with a reduced clientele.  These rural craftsmen usually produced simpler forms and retailed more complex objects made by their urban counterparts, in addition to finding supplemental employment. Typical of such craftsmen, Benjamin Bunker also worked as a clock and watchmaker to assure his livelihood.

Technical notes: See B.69.101. 

Related examples:  Carpenter and Carpenter 1987, pp. 130–32.

Book excerpt: David B. Warren, Michael K. Brown, Elizabeth Ann Coleman, and Emily Ballew Neff.  American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Collection. Houston: Princeton Univ. Press, 1998.


Provenance[Robert Ensko, New York, 1961]; purchased by Miss Ima Hogg, 1961; given to MFAH, by 1966.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Engraved on handle: IP[p superscript]M
On back of handle and inside bowl: mark of Benjamin Bunker [Flynt and Fales 1968, p. 171, second mark]

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.

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