Porringer
Providence, Rhode Island
1780-1820
Maker
Probably Samuel Hamlin (1746-1801) or Samuel Ely Hamlin (1774-1864)
Measurements
1-3/8 in x 6-3/8 in x 4-1/4 in (dia)
Materials
Pewter
Credit Line
Historic Odessa Foundation, gift of H. Rodney Sharp
Accession Number
1959.4028
Inscription
A maker's mark is stamped into the middle of the handle.
Condition Notes
The body has shallow dents. The mark is partially obliterated.
Provenance
Ex coll. H. Rodney Sharp
Comments
This porringer has an "old English" handle design and a domed bottom. A linen mark from when the handle was cast onto the body is visible inside the bowl where the handle attaches.
The touchmark stamped onto the face of the handle shows an eagle facing left (to the eagle's right). Lettering above and below cannot be discerned, but the mark bears close resemblances to the work of Samuel Hamlin of Providence or his son Samuel Ely Hamlin, evident for example in the lightning blaze below the eagle. The handle is also similar, but neither mark nor handle can yet be confirmed as coming from a Hamlin mold or die. The mark and handle also resemble those of the Danforth pewterers of Middletown, CT, with whom Hamlin Sr. trained.
Most Hamlin porringers have flower handles rather than old English.
