Lot Essay
This beaker is one of a set of six, and the only one in private hands. Two of the six beakers are in the Winterthur Collection and three beakers are in The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The set was reunited for the Yale exhibition of Myer Myers and illustrated in David Barquist, Myer Myers: Jewish Silversmith in Colonial New York, 2001, pp 186-87.
Myer Myers made this set of beakers for his niece Reyna Levy and Isaac Moses who married in 1770. German-born Isaac Moses was a highly successful businessman and a supporter of the patriots’ cause. His portrait is in the collection of the Museum of the City of New York. According to Barquist, the small size and simple design was typical of the silver that Myers produced for his family and fellow Jews. Such beakers were likely used as Kiddish cups.
Myer Myers made this set of beakers for his niece Reyna Levy and Isaac Moses who married in 1770. German-born Isaac Moses was a highly successful businessman and a supporter of the patriots’ cause. His portrait is in the collection of the Museum of the City of New York. According to Barquist, the small size and simple design was typical of the silver that Myers produced for his family and fellow Jews. Such beakers were likely used as Kiddish cups.