Description:
Silver cann with a double-scroll handle with a leaf top marked "HB" in conjoined roman letters in a circular enclosure for Henricus Boelen (1697-1755), and engraved with the initials "TC/ M" on the base along with "I C" scratched on the base and the initials "TC" in script engraved on the front outside. Son of silversmith Jacob Boelen (c.1657-1729), Henricus began working in 1718, and succeeded to his father's business on Jacob's death in 1729. Drinking vessels with a bulbous shape and without lids were popular in the colonies from the 1720s to around 1800; used for serving alcoholic beverages such as beer and ale, canns varied little in shape other than in their handles, which tended to be double-scrolled starting in the mid 1700s. This cann (originally identified made by John Burt) was one of 92 pieces in the Watson-Crichton Collection (Watson #4), acquired by the Flynts in 1954 from Victor A. Watson (1897-1974), son-in-law and partner of Lionel Alfred Crichton (1866-1938), a retail silversmith and dealer in antique plate with shops in London, New York City and Chicago. Crichton, who was considered one of Britain's most prominent silver dealers of the early 20th century, started collecting American colonial silver for his own personal interest after WWI; the Watsons refused to sell the collection until meeting the Flynts. American silver found in England with English family heirlooms has been called "loyalist silver," since many pieces came to England with returning loyalists; however, this broadly-used term does not allow for pieces sent as gifts and taken over later. Wgt. 6 0zs., 18 dwts
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