Kuchler and Himmel’s goblet is an early example of spun silver. Spinning, a manufacturing technique whereby simple vessels or components could be formed on a lathe, was introduced by the second quarter of the nineteenth century. This process was first used by manufacturers of Britannia, a pewter-related alloy, and later adapted to the production of silver.  A sheet disk was placed against a wooden pattern in the shape to be replicated. The chuck was secured on the lathe; as it revolved, pressure was applied, and the silver blank conformed to the desired shape.

Technical notes: The goblet is spun in two parts, which are joined at the upper stem and wafer. 

Related examples:  Mackie, Bacot, and Mackie 1980, p. 33, no. 34; Mackie, Bacot, and Mackie 1982, p. 303.

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.