Spoon

Object/Artifact

-

Historic Charleston Foundation

Petrie Spoons: Copyright: Shot by Russell Buskirk
Petrie Spoons

Copyright: Shot by Russell Buskirk

Name/Title

Spoon

Entry/Object ID

2007.018.001-002

Tags

Needs review, On Loan

Description

One of a pair of Spoons

Collection

Historic Charleston Foundation Collection

Acquisition

Accession

2007.018.

Source or Donor

Wilkinson, Wynyard R. T.

Acquisition Method

Purchased

Made/Created

Artist

Petrie, Alexander (Scottish-born, ca. 1717-1768)

Date made

circa 1730 - circa 1768

Place

City

Charleston

State/Province

South Carolina

Country

United States of America

Inscription/Signature/Marks

Type

Makers Mark

Location

back of handle

Transcription

AP four times

Type

Engraving

Location

back of handle

Transcription

DMP over JG

Lexicon

Nomenclature 4.0

Nomenclature Primary Object Term

Spoon, Eating

Nomenclature Sub-Class

Eating & Drinking Utensils

Nomenclature Class

Food Service T&E

Nomenclature Category

Category 04: Tools & Equipment for Materials

Other Names and Numbers

Other Numbers

Number Type

NMAH Incoming Loan Number

Other Number

2016.6014

Dimensions

Height

1 in

Width

1-3/4 in

Length

8-1/4 in

Material

Silver

Location

Location

Room

303

Building

Nathaniel Russell House

Category

Permanent

Date

February 7, 2023

Location

Building

Loan

Moved By

Lauren Northup

Date

January 6, 2017

Notes

Smithsonian- National Museum of American History for the Many Voices, One Nation exhibit

Condition

Overall Condition

Good

Exhibitions

10
16

Outgoing Loans

Loan Out

OL2017.001

Loan Out

OL2016.001

Research Notes

Research Type

Curator

Person

Brandy Culp

Notes

Alexander Petrie operated a profitable establishment, located prominently "on the Bay," selling fashionable imported English plate, jewelry and watches, in addition to Charleston-made silver items, including articles for trade with American Indians. Established in the city by the early 1740s, he was among the many Scottish craftsmen and merchants who immigrated to Charleston. The documented workers in Petrie's shop include Erskine Heron (dates unknown), who apprenticed with notable Edinburgh clockmaker George Monro, and Abraham, an enslaved silversmith. The extant objects bearing Petrie's maker's mark were closely based on London models, encouraging patronage for his Charleston-made plate from a clientele that often favored English wares. These spoons, marked four times to mimic the London hallmarking system, would have been placed on the table with the bowl facing down; the owners initials, engraved on the reverse of the handle, and Petrie's marks would have prominently faced upward on the table. The alms basin is by far the most successful extant silver article produced in Petrie's shop. While it has been compared to French jattes (basins) and strawberry dishes, Petrie's alms basin surpasses that which he imitated. The undulating rim gives the illusion of a ribbon loosely gathered around the flat dedication panel, drawing attention to the engraving of the patron's name in the center. The alms basis, used to collect monetary offerings from the congregation, was commissioned by the prominent planter Henry Middleton (1717-1784) for the St. George's Parish church in Dorchester, a town outside of Charleston near his family seat at Middleton Place. At the age of thirty-eight, Middleton may have ordered the alms basin to commemorate his appointment to the South Carolina Council by the Crown in 1755, or perhaps to celebrate the addition of the church's imposing new bell tower, completed ca. 1754. After changing ownership several times, the alms basin was acquired by Henry Augustus Middleton (1793-1878), great-grandson of Henry Middleton, and presented to St. Michael's Episcopal Church. BSC For more information, see Brandy Culp, "Mr. Petrie's 'Shop on the Bay,' " Antiques and Fine Art (7th Anniversary issue, 2007), 250-255.

General Notes

Note

Tag Date: 2022-11-03 14:34:09

Created By

admin@catalogit.app

Create Date

November 8, 2007

Updated By

sferguson@historiccharleston.org

Update Date

June 6, 2023