Francis Richardson (1681–1729) was among the first Philadelphia silversmiths to produce keyhole-handle porringers. At the time of his death the vessel's popularity was on the rise in the American colonies and, conversely, on the wane in England. This may explain why the form never appears among his son Joseph's extensive orders to London suppliers; however, the younger Richardson's shop accounts record the production of no fewer than 129 porringers between 1733 and 1748. These revealing documents specify that his journeyman, John S. Hutton (1684/85–1792), and apprentice, David Harper (d. 1761), fashioned many of the porringers, which, once completed, were stamped with Richardson’s mark.

Technical notes: See B.69.101.

Related examples: Buhler and Hood 1970, vol. 2, pp. 186–87, no. 836; Buhler 1972, vol. 2, p. 604, no. 516; Fales 1974b, pp. 119–22; Quimby 1995, p. 426, no. 441.

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.