Lot 787
787
A PAIR OF BEAKERS AND A SET OF FOUR SILVER WINE CUPS
A PAIR OF BEAKERS AND A SET OF FOUR SILVER WINE CUPS
A PAIR OF BEAKERS AND A SET OF FOUR SILVER WINE CUPS
A PAIR OF BEAKERS AND A SET OF FOUR SILVER WINE CUPS
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PROPERTY OF THE FIRST PARISH CHURCH IN BROOKLINE
A PAIR OF BEAKERS AND A SET OF FOUR SILVER WINE CUPS

BOSTON, THE BEAKERS CIRCA 1770, THE WINE CUPS CIRCA 1818

Details
A PAIR OF BEAKERS AND A SET OF FOUR SILVER WINE CUPS
BOSTON, THE BEAKERS CIRCA 1770, THE WINE CUPS CIRCA 1818
The beakers engraved with presentation inscriptions Given to the Church of Brooklin, 1770 and on the other side Thomas Woodward, and The Gift of of Mrs. Mary Woodward to the Church in Brooklin 1770; each apparently unmarked, two wine cups two engraved in front The Gift of Prudence Heath to the Church of Christ, in Brookline; of which the Rev. John Pierce is Pastor. 1818; the third with The Gift of Mrs. Lucy Robinson to the Church of Christ in Brookline; of which the Rev. John Pierce is Pastor 1818; the fourth with The gift of Deac John Robinson, to the Church of Christ in Brookline; of which the Rev. John Pierce is Pastor 1818; apparently unmarked
The beakers 5 ½ in. (14 cm.) high, the wine cups 6 ¼ in. (16 cm.) high; 58 oz. 10 dwt. (1,833 gr.)
Literature
John Buck, Old Plate, Its Makers & Marks, 1903, pp. 242-243
Ellen Chase and Charles White, Proceedings of the Brookline Historical Society, 1908 (beakers)
E. Alfred Jones, The Old Silver of American Churches, 1913, pl. XXXVII, pp. 99-103

Lot Essay

The beakers:
The donor of the first, Thomas Woodward, Jr., was the eldest son of Thomas Woodward, Sr. (d. circa 1731). The donor of the second, Mary Woodward (d. 1779), was the widow of John Woodward (d. 1770), brother of Thomas Woodward, Jr.. The Woodward family is among the oldest of Brookline; a grant of twenty-eight acres was made to Nathaniel Woodward the elder in 1637.

The wine cups:
Prudence Heath (1751-1839) was the daughter of William and Prudence (née Williams) Heath. Jones describes her as a "quaint character" who was known locally as Miss Prudy Heath. See Jones, The Old Silver of American Churches, 1913, p. 102.

The donors Deacon John Robinson (b. 1763), son of James and Sarah (née Breck) Robinson, and Lucy Robinson (1770-1845), daughter of Samuel and Jane (née Kilton) Withington were married on 10 November 1791.

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