Description:
One of pair of cast pewter flagons (unmarked) with hinged lids, which came from Charles F. Montgomery. Although these tall tankard-like vessels are often thought of as church vessels, used to bring unconsecrated wine to fill the cups or chalices at the communion table, many were used in other public and domestics settings, probably for beer or cider, and appear frequently in Virginia household inventories, especially before 1720. This pair of flagons have five rectangular and circular perforations behind the pouring lip, which indicates that they were likely made for tavern use with the strainer holes used to retain hops. This 18th century form is sometimes known as a 'Spire' flagon, which early were usually tall and tapering, but the by the mid 18th century, had become broader; these were made into the 19th century. English flagons were advertised in America, and few early American pewterers appear to have owned the necessary molds to make these large vessels given their limited sales. However, Henry, Philip, and William Will, Samuel Danforth, and the Boardmans developed flagon forms, and later Israel Trask, Oliver Trask, and Eben Smith of Beverly, Mass., Roswell Gleason of Dorchester, Mass., William Calder of Providence, R.I., and Sheldon and Feltman of Albany, NY, produced britannia flagons in quantity. According to pewter dealer Wayne Hilt, there is a similar flagon in the Salisbury, New Hampshire, church with a long history there, and one in an English Baptist church with the touchmark of Richard Pitt who worked in London from 1747-1793. This flagon has an acorn-like finial on a domed, stepped cover that is attached to the handle with a five-segment hinge; wide pouring lip that sits on a shaped knop; wide molded band around the upper third of the body with its straight, slightly tapered sides; molded band around the base of the body; and raised shaped foot with a molded band around the edge. There is a scrolled and pierced thumbpiece outlined with a groove, over a double-scrolled handle.
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https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+0850 |
