As its modern-day name aptly implies, the “Old English” handle was patterned after British silver and pewter porringers dating from the second half of the seventeenth century. In the American colonies this design was first adopted by Boston silversmiths, most notably Jeremiah Dummer (see B.69.116), in the late seventeenth century. Its introduction in pewter occurs somewhat later, probably by the second quarter of the eighteenth century, and continued to be produced by Samuel Danforth and others through the early nineteenth century.

Technical notes: This porringer is fabricated following the usual method of construction for this form. A mold for the handle was aligned with the bowl and the molten alloy poured in. The bowl was held in place by cloth-covered tongs, which prevented the molten pewter in the handle mold from melting a hole in the bowl. In response, the weave of the fabric was often translated into the softened metal, leaving an impression that is called a linen mark. As it cooled, the newly cast handle was joined to the bowl.

Related examples: Hood 1965, p. 23, nos. 71, 72. Another example, with a basin rather than the usual bellied bowl, is in Kernan, Ross, and Eilers 1969, p. 17, no. 25.

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.