Late eighteenth-century tankards, specifically those dating after the Revolution, exhibit an evolution of form that on occasion responds to the recently introduced Neoclassical style. In general the vessel’s diameter decreased and its orientation became more vertical in comparison with earlier examples. In addition to stylistic changes, Bayou Bend’s tankard displays a cultural evolution. John Andrew Brunstrom’s Swedish background must account for the suggestion of a disk that ornaments the lid, just as Continental metalworkers frequently set in a coin for decoration.

Technical notes: See B.60.55. The lid is attached by a five-part hinge.

Related examples: Ruckman 1954, p.388.

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.