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Communion Dish

A work made of silver.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • A work made of silver.

Date:

1781

Artist:

Benjamin Burt (American, 1729–1805)
Boston

About this artwork

Because silver was associated with purity and durability, it was the most popular material used to fashion objects for administering the Sacrament. Matching sets were rare, and church silver was usually acquired piecemeal over a period of decades. By the end of the 18th century, the First Church of Medford, Massachusetts, had 20 pieces of communion silver, all given by different donors and fashioned by different makers.

Status

On View, Gallery 166

Department

Arts of the Americas

Artist

Benjamin Burt

Title

Communion Dish

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.

1781

Medium

Silver

Inscriptions

Marked on bottom, in rectangle: B.BURT Engraved around rim of dish: The Legacy of the Honble ISAAC ROYALL ESQ. to the CHURCH OF CHRIST in Medford 1781 Scratch weight on underside: oz / 25-6

Dimensions

3.2 × 32.4 × 32.4 cm (1 1/4 × 12 3/4 × 12 3/4 in.)

Credit Line

Purchased with funds provided by the Antiquarian Society

Reference Number

1989.65

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/73707/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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