Quart Mug or "Tavern Pot"
Dateca. 1731-1763
Maker
Robert Bonynge
MediumPewter
DimensionsHeight: 6 1/4"; Across handle and mouth: 6"; Diameter of foot: 4 13/16"
Credit LineMuseum Purchase, The Friends of Colonial Williamsburg Collections Fund
Object number2025-5
DescriptionStraight sided mug of tapering cylindrical form with a molded foot, a band, and a thick projecting lip. Its scrolling strap handle has a flattened "D" cross section, a pad terminal, and a thumb rest embellished with a shell and a pellet. Linen marks are inside the body at both handle junctions, and turned ridges are discernable on the bottom.Label TextTall mugs with straight, tapered sides became popular in British drinking establishments during the late 17th century. Commonly referred to as "tavern pots," these mugs were also popular in 18th century Boston, where this splendid example was made. It pre-dates the end of the French & Indian War and carries the mark of Robert Bonynge, one of early New England's most accomplished pewterers. Other Massachusetts and Rhode Island pewterers made tavern pots of this form through the end of the century.Bonynge, perhaps the best known of Boston's early pewterers is credited for creating a number of landmark vessels, including a gadrooned two-handled cup now in the Bayou Bend Collection (B.2024.5) andMark(s)Interior bottom struck with a Crowned Tudor Rose flanked by R and B within a circle, all in relief within a circular reserve. There is a pellet above and below R and B (Jacobs-10, Laughlin-292). S and W, each under a three-tyned coronet and individually struck, is on the thumb rest.ProvenanceJohn Carl Thomas (Hanover, CT); Dr. Melvyn & Bette Wolf (Flint, MI); [Pook & Pook, Inc., Downingtown, PA]; 2024, purchased by The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation (Williamsburg, VA).
1700-1720
1690-1720