Images(2)

Tankard

Date1790-1810

Maker Love Touch (maker)

OriginAmerica, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

MediumPewter

DimensionsOH: 7 1/2"; Diam (base): 4 ¾"

Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Foster McCarl, Jr.

Object number1983-433

DescriptiontankardLabel TextIt is now generally agreed that several Philadelphia makers used the Love touch on their wares between about 1760 and 1810. More specific attributions to John Andrew Brunstrom and his father-in-law Abraham Hasselberg, both of Swedish background, have generally been broadened. Tankards, such as this fine example, are of a distinctive Philadelphia type. The flattened domed covers and the bold bands of multiple reeding encircling their tapered bodies display Swedish influence. The repetition of delicate beaded edges, also a favored Philadelphia treatment, lends a heightened sense of elegant refinement that one associates with neoclassic taste.

A similar tankard, also with the same marks, was formerly owned by Zion Lutheran Church, Middle Smithfield Township, Monroe County, Pennsylvania
Inscription(s)NoneMark(s)Touch mark two standing birds facing one another with "LO" to the left, and "VE" to the right, and a crown above within a beaded circle on interior center-bottom of base (Laughlin 868). Secondary mark a quality "X" with crown above stamped within base adjacent to touch mark.ProvenanceGift of Mr. and Mrs. Foster McCarl, Jr., Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania.