Description:
Raised, bellied silver cann (unmarked) with an applied base molding and rim molding; attached cast handle with c-scroll, reverse c-scroll, and small terminal scroll; and a centerpunch in middle of base, which is engraved on the front within an oval, "The Gift/ of Mrs Theodah Lyman / to the first Church of Christ / in Northamton Anno Domi/ ni Christi 1769." In the church records of the First Churches of Northampton, there is a reference to this object: "1770 Theodor Lyman gave to Chh a silver can." Drinking vessels with a bulbous shape and without lids were popular in the colonies from the 1720s to around 1800; canns varied little in shape other than in their handles, which tended to be double-scrolled starting in the mid 1700s.

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https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+L2000.1.11

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