876.1927: "The Dunster Tankard"

Identification and Creation

Object Number

876.1927

People

Ephraim Cobb, American (Barnstable, MA 1708 - 1775 Barnstable, MA)

Title

"The Dunster Tankard"

Classification

Vessels

Work Type

vessel

Date

c. 1760

Places

Creation Place: North America, United States

Culture

American

Persistent Link

https://hvrd.art/o/232513

Physical Descriptions

Medium

Silver

Dimensions

20.3 x 10.6 cm (8 x 4 3/16 in.)
7909.37 g

Inscriptions and Marks

• inscription: Mark, center of base and on the body of the tankard, one half inch from the lip and two inches from the right of the handle, for Ephraim Cobb of Plymouth and Boston.

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History

Nathan Smith, Pembroke, MA.
Gift to Harvard College, 1853.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line

Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Loan from Harvard University; Gift to Harvard College from Nathan Smith, 1853

Object Number

876.1927

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

• Timothy Anglin Burgard, American Art at Harvard: Cultures and Contexts, brochure, Harvard University Art Museums (Cambridge, MA, 1994), p. 10, cat. 16
• "The Table is Set: Out Comes the Ceremonial Silver to Celebrate a President", Harvard Magazine (November 2001), p. 112, repr.

Exhibition History

• 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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