Peter Oliver
Cann

MakerAmerican, c.1682–1712
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Cann
Datec. 1703–1712
Made inBoston, Massachusetts, United States
MediumSilver
Dimensions4 1/4 × 3 11/16 × 5 5/16 in. (10.8 × 9.4 × 13.5 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of Miss Ima Hogg
Object numberB.69.92
Current Location
Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Metals Study Room
On view

Explore Further

Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
Description

Today the term "mug” describes silver vessels with straight or slightly tapered sides, while the word “can” denotes the same form but with a pear-shaped body.  During the colonial period these terms were used interchangeably. At the beginning of the eighteenth century the form evolved into an upward-tapering cylinder with a hollow handle, of which the Bayou Bend can is one of the earliest datable examples. 

Technical notes: The can is raised with a two-part handle, which is attached to a small disk above the base molding.  

Related examples: This is the only Oliver can recorded. Vessels engraved with these same arms include Puig et al. 1989, pp. 239–40, no. 196; Antiques 138 (July 1990), p. 92; Quimby 1995, pp. 133–34, no. 91.

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.


ProvenanceHermann F. and Dorothy Locke Clarke, 1941; purchased by Richard Loeb, New Jersey; [Ginsburg and Levy, New York, 1951]; purchased by Miss Ima Hogg, 1953; given to MFAH, 1969.
Exhibition History

Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Engraved on handle: IA[A superscript]M
Engraved on side: the Howard arms
Left of handle and on base: mark of Peter Oliver [Buhler 1972, vol. I, p. 121]

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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

Cann
Peter Van Dyck
c. 1705–1751
Silver
B.69.119
Child's Cann
Ebenezer Noyes Moulton
c. 1790
Silver
B.2018.2
Cann
Jacob Hurd
c. 1724–1740
Silver
B.69.99
Cann
Jacob Hurd
c. 1724–1740
Silver
B.61.18
Cann
William Cowell, Sr.
c. 1704–1736
Silver
B.61.54
Venus of Urbino
Attributed to Peter Oliver
before 1639
Pigment on ivory
BF.2012.7
Cann
Jacob Whitmore
c. 1780–1790
Pewter
B.60.78.2
Cann
Jacob Whitmore
c. 1758–1790
Pewter
B.64.27
Cann
Samuel Hamlin
c. 1767–1856
Pewter
B.61.46
Cann
Nathaniel Austin
c. 1763–1807
Pewter
B.60.64
Cann
Joseph Danforth, Sr.
c. 1779–1788
Pewter
B.60.65
Cann
Joseph Danforth, Sr.
c. 1779–1788
Pewter
B.60.66