882.1927.A-B: "The Browne Cup"

Identification and Creation

Object Number

882.1927.A-B

People

John Burt, American (Boston, MA 1692/3 - 1745/6 Boston, MA)

Title

"The Browne Cup"

Classification

Vessels

Work Type

vessel

Date

c. 1731

Places

Creation Place: North America, United States, Massachusetts, Boston

Culture

American

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/232112

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Silver

Dimensions

29.2 x 16.8 cm (11 1/2 x 6 5/8 in.)
8476.35 g

Inscriptions and Marks

• inscription: Inscription: From/the Bequest of/Col. Samuel Brown,/of/Salem,/1731.
  Mark, on cover, on body near handle and on base: JOHN/BURT in oval cartouche.

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History

Colonel Samuel Browne, Salem, MA, bequest; to Harvard College, 1731.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Loan from Harvard University, Bequest to Harvard College from Colonel Samuel Browne, 1736

Object Number

882.1927.A-B

Division

European and American Art

Contact

am_europeanamerican@harvard.edu

Permissions

The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request.

Descriptions

Commentary

The following eight vessels constitute Harvard's ceremonial silver. They are taken out of Harvard Art Museum storage and displayed only for the most important occasions, most notably for presidential inaugurations. Information about their history and display are in the files of the University Portrait Collection:

"The John Vassal Tankard", by Joseph Kneeland, American, 873.1927
"The William Vassal Tankard" by Joseph Kneeland, 874.1927
"The Dunster Tankard" by Ephraim Cobb, American, 876.1927
"The Stoughton Cup" by John Coney, American, 877.1927.A-B
"The Holyoke Caudle Cup" by John Coney, 878.1927
"The Hedge Tankard" by Edward Winslow, American, 879.1927
"The Great Salt", unidentified British maker, 881.1927
"The Browne Cup," by John Burt, American, 882.1927.A-B

Publication History

• Colonial Society of America, Harvard College Records, The Colonial Society of Massachusetts (Boston, MA, 1925), p. 282
• William Germain Dooley, "Masterpiece by Burt Displayed at Fogg Museum", Boston Evening Transcript (Boston, MA, April 16, 1932)
• David B. Warren and Katherine S. Howe, Marks of Achievement: Four Centuries of American Presentation Silver, exh. cat., Museum of Fine Arts, Houston/Harry N. Abrams Inc. (Houston TX/New York NY, 1987), fig. 43.
• Timothy Anglin Burgard, American Art at Harvard: Cultures and Contexts, brochure, Harvard University Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 1994), p. 10, cat. 13
• Jeannine Skerry, "'Ancient and Valuable Gifts': Silver at Colonial Harvard", New England Silver and Silversmithing, 1620-1815, The Colonial Society of Massachusetts (Boston, MA, 2001), pp. 183-209, pp. 186-187, fig. 3a and b
• Jeannine Falino, ed., New England Silver & Silversmithing 1620-1815, The Colonial Society of Massachusetts (Boston, MA, 2001), pp. 186-187, fig. 3; pp. 183-209

Exhibition History

• Marks of Achievement: Four Centuries of American Presentation Silver, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Houston, 09/18/1987 - 01/03/1988; The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 08/03/1988 - 10/30/1988
• American Art at Harvard: Cultures and Contexts, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 10/01/1994 - 12/30/1994
• The Persistence of Memory: Continuity and Change in American Cultures, Harvard University Art Museums, Cambridge, 07/29/1995 - 05/13/2001

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