Description:
Pewter basin with the touchmark "Tow / o / Compton" and made by Townsend & Compton of London. John Townsend, who was the greatest of the export makers, was a major source of finished pewter goods to America. Staring in business in 1748, he was in a series of partnerships until his death in 1801: Townsend & Reynolds (1767-1771), Townsend & Griffin (1771-1778), John Townsend & Co. (1778-1784), and finally Townsend & Compton (1784-1801). Basins, a form that served many purposes, were one of the commonest hollowware forms during the 18th and 19th centuries. Those basins that were 8" or less primarily served as individual eating bowls, or waste or slop bowls in tea services; larger examples were most often used as wash basins. Except for the hammering found on some English basins, there is little difference between English and American basins. The term "bowl" was rarely used in early records except when describing such forms as a christening bowl or sugar bowl.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+1310 |
