AN AMERICAN SILVER CANN

MARK OF JOSEPH RICHARDSON SR., PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, CIRCA 1750

Details

AN AMERICAN SILVER CANN
MARK OF JOSEPH RICHARDSON SR., PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, CIRCA 1750
of baluster form on molded circular foot, and with leaf-capped double-scroll handle, the front engraved with foliate script initials AH within a bright-cut oval reserve suspended by tied ribbons and flanked by crossed reeds, the handle engraved R pellet H to S pellet B 1756, marked twice on underside IR in a rectangle, with scratch weight 14-6, and scratch engraved Anna Head Stewardson
5 1/8 in. (13 cm.) high; 14 oz. 2 dwt. (438 gr.)

Sale room notice

Please note this cann was not recorded in the John Head account books.

Lot Essay

The monogram is likely that of Anna Head (1767-1851) of Philadelphia, who married Thomas Stewardson Sr. (1762-1841), a Quaker merchant, on 14 April 1796. Anna Head Stewardson, was the daughter of John Head Jr. (1723-1792) and his second wife, Elisabeth Hastings (d. 1770). John Head Jr. was the son of the prolific joiner John Head (1688–1754) of Philadelphia. Head is hailed as one of the city’s most prolific and innovative craftsmen. Little is known of the cabinet shops from this early period in Philadelphia. The relatively prosperous city of Philadelphia supported numerous joiners and cabinetmakers, most of whom remain obscure and without specific works attributed to them. Among those with known works is the Quaker John Head, whose body of work is only now emerging from obscurity. Head's account book survives in the collection of the American Philosophical Society.

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