This silver pitcher bears the mark of the well-known Mobile silversmith and retailer, James Conning. He served his apprenticeship in his native New York, but soon left for Mobile where he spent the remainder of his career. 

Scholars of southern silver have never uncovered evidence that Conning produced anything other than flatware. Hollowware bearing his stamp, such as a teapot in the Bayou Bend Collection, is identified with makers active in the Northeast (B.82.3). For example, although the museum’s teapot is marked “J.CONNING/MOBILE,” it is attributed to the New York firm of Wood and Hughes. This assignment is based on the fact that their stamp appears along with Conning’s other objects. Furthermore, the cast and die-rolled elements on this teapot are identical to related components on silver stamped “Wood & Hughes.” 

This pitcher differs from other vessels with Conning’s mark. It suggests the hand of a less sophisticated craftsman, raising the possibility that it was fashioned in Conning’s Mobile shop. In an effort to learn more about this object, its composition was plotted using X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy. The analysis reveals that the pitcher has a slightly higher concentration of silver than the 92.5 percent that one would expect at this time. While there is no conclusive evidence, the analysis raises the possibility that the pitcher may have been fashioned in Mobile.