American Silver Tankard

Object Details

Object Essay

Eighteenth-century New York tankards generally have broad, low proportions; wide, overhanging, flat covers; corkscrew thumbpieces; and heavy bases. The form, although essentially English, is sometimes embellished with ornaments that resemble Dutch, German, and Scandinavian prototypes.  

For embellishment, this plain example by Simeon Soumain relies only on the shaped profile of the front edge of the cover and a boldly beaded hinge plate (an early replacement) applied to the top of the handle. The S-curved extension of the hollow C-scroll handle may be seen on other surviving examples of Soumain’s work.^{1_{E.g. a pair of mugs at the Yale University Art Gallery, discussed in Buhler and Hood, 2: 53–54.}} Heavy solder around the base of the cocoon-shaped thumbpiece suggests that it is a replacement. The mark “CK” on the upright strut is that of Cornelius Kierstede, who worked as a silversmith in New York and in New Haven. Several New York silversmiths routinely marked even the smallest parts of the objects they made. Some apparently specialized in making cast parts for sale and used patterns struck with their touchmarks to identify their work.^{2_{The thumbpiece is also mounted so that the shaped portion of the strut is made to face the cover, rather than the handle, as is usual. A tankard by Philip Goelet at the Yale University Art Gallery also has a mark in the thumbpiece (Buhler and Hood, 2: 74–75). Porringer handles were also often marked separately, and some survive with marks in the casting (see Cooper 1978, 107–9).}}

Simeon Soumain emigrated from London as a child and is thought to have received his training in New York, where he became one of the most successful silversmiths of the early 18th century. His parents, like many French Huguenots who settled in the state, may have spent some time in Holland before going to London, and they had close connections with both the French and Dutch communities in New York. Nevertheless, many of Soumain’s works are masterpieces of the American Queen Anne style, and his most important patrons were the English elite. Three silversmiths are recorded as his apprentices:  William Anderson in 1717, Elias Boudinot in 1721, and Elias Pelletreau in 1741.^{3_{McKinsey, 51–68; Buhler 1972, 557.}}

Jennifer F. Goldsborough and Barbara McLean Ward

Excerpted from Clement E. Conger, et al. Treasures of State: Fine and Decorative Arts in the Diplomatic Reception Rooms of the U.S. Department of State. New York: H.N. Abrams, 1991.