Name/Title
EwerEntry/Object ID
2007.3.2Description
Silver ewer heavily decorated with repoussé foliage and flowers. The handle is squared and decorated with a ram’s head and additional foliage. The ewer is engraved with a crest consisting of a shield of three rosettes and divisional sector, mounted by a wolf torso and head. The maker of the ewer is marked on its base: "S. Kirk & Son.”Use
Distinguished from pitchers by their elaborate decoration and elongated spouts, ewers were used to store and pour water, wine, or oil.Context
Created by silver company S. Kirk & Son of Baltimore, Maryland, this decorative ewer was owned and passed down by the Hampton Family as indicated by the Hampton family coat of arms engraved on the piece under the spout. As one of South Carolina's most socially and politically prominent antebellum families, the Hamptons wielded considerable influence among the state's elite and controlled great wealth, which they amassed through agricultural pursuits that involved massive land holdings cultivated by enslaved workers. Through their wealth and prominence, the Hamptons enjoyed an opulent lifestyle to which the wealthy planter class was accustomed. As with most nineteenth-century elite, the family's silver played a large role in projecting its wealth and connoting its taste and refinement.
Samuel Kirk (1793-1872), a silversmith who introduced American consumers to repoussé, operated as S. Kirk & Son from 1846 until 1861 in partnership with his son, Henry Child Kirk (1826-1914).Made/Created
Artist Information
Artist
S. Kirk and SonsRole
MakerDate made
1846 - 1861Inscription/Signature/Marks
Type
LabelLocation
BaseTranscription
S. Kirk & SonDimensions
Height
17 inWidth
9 inDepth
5-1/2 inCircumference
19 in
