Salver

c. 1715

Edward Winslow (American, 1669–1753)
Boston

Edward Winslow was one of the most prolific and original silversmiths of the 18th century. His work consistently redefined accepted forms for silver objects. This three-lobed platter is rare in American 18th-century design and has no known prototype. Most likely the serving surface was used to hold four small, stemmed wine glasses and was placed on the dining table after a meal.

Status: On View, Gallery 165
Department: Arts of the Americas

Artist: Edward Winslow
Title: Salver
Place: Boston (Object made in:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: c. 1715
Medium: Silver
Inscriptions: Marked on top at lower edge: "EW" over a fleur-de-lis in a shaped shield Engraved at the center with unicorn crest
Dimensions: 5.1 × 17.8 × 17.8 cm (2 1/4 × 7 1/4 × 7 in.)
Credit Line: Purchased with funds provided by the Antiquarian Society
Reference Number: 1948.107
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/62549/manifest.json

Kathryn C. Buhler, “Three Early American Salvers.” Bulletin of the Museum of Fine Arts (Boston) 33, 198 (August 1935), 52–54 (ill.).
Helen Comstock, “Silver by Edward Winslow of Boston, 1669–1753),” The Connoisseur CVIII, 482 (December 1941), 205–209 (ill.).
Kathryn C. Buhler, American Silver (World Publishing Co., 1950), 23 (ill.).
The Antiquarian Society (Art Institute of Chicago, 1951), no. 47 (ill.).
The Art Institute of Chicago, American and European Decorative Arts from the Collections of The Antiquarian Society, 1878–1951 (Art Institute of Chicago, 1951), 47 (ill.).
Helen Comstock, “The Connoisseur in America: Work of the Antiquarian Society in Chicago,” in The Connoisseur CXXX, 528 (October 1952) p. 148.
Richard McLanathan ed, “Colonial Silversmiths, Maters and Apprentices,” (The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 1956), 29.
Meyric R. Rogers, “American Decorative Arts at The Art Institute of Chicago,” The Magazine Antiques LXXIV, 1 (July 1958), 49–56 (ill.).
David A. Hanks, “American Silver at The Art Institute of Chicago,” The Magazine Antiques XCVIII, 3 (September 1970), 418–422 (ill.).
Graham Hood, American Silver: A History of Style, 1650–1900 (Praeger Publishers, 1971) p. 81–82 (ill.).
Michael Clayton, The Collector’s Dictionary of the Silver and Gold of Great Britain and North American (World Publishing Co., 1971) p. 235 (ill.). no. 462.
Harold Osborne ed, The Oxford Companion to the Decorative Arts (Clarendon Press, 1975) p. 741 (ill.).
Milo M. Naeve, The Classical Presence in American Art (Art Institute of Chicago, 1975) p. 741 (ill.).
Judith A. Barter, et al., American Arts at The Art Institute of Chicago: From Colonial Times to World War I (Art Institute of Chicago, 1998), 56–58, no. 8.
Patricia E. Kane et al., Colonial Massachusetts Silversmiths and Jewelers (Yale University Art Gallery, 1998) p. 980, (ill.).
Judith A. Barter, Elizabeth McGoey, et al., American Silver in the Art Institute of Chicago (Yale University Press, 2016), cat. 9 (ill.).
Elizabeth McGoey, ed., American Silver in the Art Institute of Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago, 2018), https://publications.artic.edu/americansilver/reader/collection/section/6, cat. 9 (ill.).

New Haven, Yale University Art Gallery, Masterpieces of New England Silver, 1650–1800, June 18–Sept. 10, 1939, cat. 199.
Art Institute of Chicago, From Colony to Nation: An Exhibition of American Painting, Silver and Architecture from 1650 to the War of 1812, Apr. 21–June 19, 1949, cat. 221.
Kansas City, Nelson–Atkins Gallery of Art, Antique American and English Silver, Oct. 1–30, 1950, no cat.
Kansas City, Nelson–Atkins Museum of Art, Silver from Mid–Western Collections, Sept. 14–Dec. 1, 1956, no cat.
Minneapolis Institute of Arts, French, English, and American Silver: A Loan Exhibition in Honor of Russell A. Plimpton, June 9–July 15, 1956, cat. 307.
Richmond, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Masterpieces of American Silver, Jan. 15–Feb. 14, 1960, cat. 139.
Milwaukee Art Center, Vignettes of the 18th Century in America: Arts and Decorations of the Colonial and Federal Periods, July 1–31, 1960, no cat. no.
Art Institute of Chicago, The Antiquarian Society: The First One Hundred Years, Apr. 23–June 19, 1977, cat. 177.

By descent to Marcus Morton, Jr. (1893–1989), Boston, by 1939 [Phillips 1939, 84]; sold to the Art Institute of Chicago, 1948.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

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