Description:
According to family history, this silver salver was a wedding present to Mary Ingersoll Bowditch (1816-1893), from her Aunt Parker, who owned a farm on Parker Hill in the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, upon her marriage to Epes Sargent Dixwell (1807-1899) in 1839. The salver is engraved "RP to MIB" it is not known who RP is. The salver is chased with decoration of the jessamine flower – the flower of the Bowditch family. The Carolina yellow jessamine also known as the false jasmine is a twining evergreen vine native to the American southwest. According to the Bowditch family records – a jessamine flower was given to Nathaniel Bowditch, the mathematician, when he was very ill. It being the first that he had seen he gave it to his daughter, Mary Ingersoll Bowditch, saying, “Let it be to thee my dear, an emblem of Truth and Innocence.” The excellent quality of the chased decoration and its connection to the Bowditch family make it an unusual story in Historic Deerfield's New England silver collection – one of an adopted family symbol – beyond the previous use of heraldry, crests, and mottoes. Note that accompanies salver – “Given to my Grandmother Mary Ingersoll Bowditch (Dixwell) as a wedding present by “Aunt Parker” who owned a big farm on Parker Hill – Jasamine [sic] was the Bowditch flower – Granny gave it to me – M.E.W.B.” “Aunt Parker” could be Anna Sargent Parker (1782-1873), aunt of Epes Sargent Dixwell, and the wife of John Parker (1783-1844). Parker Hill is located in Roxbury, MA. Salver or Tray, retailed by Jones, Lows, and Ball (1839-1846), Boston, Massachusetts, 1839. Silver. Engraved on back, “RP to MIB/June 4th /1839” (their wedding day) and stamped “Pure Silver Coin /Jones, Lows, & Ball/Boston/Boston” Cast rim and feet, chased decoration of jessamine flower (Bowditch family flower)
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2023.16.2 |
