Tankard

Expand

IIIFView PDF

Tankard

Artist Paul Revere (American, 1735-1818)

Date1769

DimensionsH: 8 5/8 in. (21.9 cm); weight: 43 oz. 10 dwt. (1.23 kg)

Mediumsilver

ClassificationMetalwork

Credit LinePurchased with funds from Mr. and Mrs. Robert J. Barber; Dr. and Mrs. Edward A. Kern; Mr. and Mrs. Stanley K. Levinson; Mr. and Mrs. George P. MacNichol, Jr.; and from the Florence Scott Libbey Bequest in Memory of her Father, Maurice A. Scott

Object number

1988.43

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 29

Label TextCreated by famous patriot Paul Revere, this tankard for ale or beer was commissioned by Captain Joseph Goodwin, whose coat of arms appears on the side. It is remarkable for its large size, heavy weight, and fine engraved decoration. As colonists prospered, it was not unusual to take an accumulation of silver coins or out-of-fashion objects to a silversmith to be melted down and made into a tankard, porringer, or coffee pot. A client thus converted spare capital into an intrinsically valuable object, a visible symbol of material success. Revere, celebrated for his legendary “midnight” ride from Boston to Lexington at the beginning of the American Revolution, was one of the leading American silversmiths of his day. His silver generally reflected the current English fashion. Here, he captures the curves and flourishes of the Rococo style, popular in the mid-1700s, with a complex double-scrolled handle and open thumbpiece.Published ReferencesToledo Museum of Art, Toledo Museum of Art Masterworks, Toledo, 2009, p. 209, repr. (col.).