Edmund Dolbeare
Dish

Public Domain

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Images(3)

Maker Edmund Dolbeare (American, c. 1644–c.1706)American, c. 1644–c.1706

CultureAmerican

Titles

Dish

Datec. 1670–1710

Made inBoston, Massachusetts, United States

Made inor Salem, Massachusetts, United States

MediumPewter

Dimensions1 3/16 × 16 3/4 diameter in. (3 × 42.5 cm)

Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, museum purchase funded by various donors in honor of O. B. Dyer

Object numberB.2023.6

Current Location

Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens

Murphy Room

On view

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Department

Bayou Bend

Object Type

METALWORK

DescriptionEdmund Dolbeare was born about 1644 in Ashburton, Devon, in the west of England, a town that had been important in the tin mining industry beginning in the 12th century. Several members of the Dolbeare family worked as pewterers in Ashburton during the 17th century, including Edmund’s father, John Dolbeare. Edmund emigrated from Ashburton to Boston, arriving there by 1671. Records suggest that he did not find great success, as fellow Boston pewterer John Baker provided financial assurances for him in 1682. In 1684, he moved to Salem but returned to Boston by 1693; he likely made pewter in both places. Two of his sons, John and Joseph, carried on in their father’s trade, as did at least two grandsons. This large dish features Dolbeare’s mark, struck four times on the rim. Still visible on the reverse is evidence of Dolbeare’s hammering of the surface, a technique employed to harden the metal after the object was formed by casting the molten pewter in a mold.

ProvenanceJohn Carl Thomas (1935–1998), Hanover, Connecticut; [Bette and Melvyn Wolf, Flint, Michigan, 1997]; purchased by MFAH, 2023.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

[none]

Marked on upper surface of rim, four times: E·D [with four stars below, all within a shield]; Jacobs, J-127

Marked on upper surface of rim, four times: E·D [with four stars below, all within a shield]; Jacobs, J-127
Marked on upper surface of rim: SG

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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