The spoon has a downturned rounded handle tip with short midrib on back and a rectangular stem. A rounded drop and worn eleven-ribbed shell decoration appear on back of the elliptical bowl.
Inscription
Engraved in roman letters on the perimeter of handle tip "THE GIFT OF THE DORCHESTER LADYS." At center of handle tip are the initials "E / M = L." On back of handle, below midrib is inscribed "1774."
Marks
Marked "D [bullet] Parker" in roman letters within rectangle on back of stem.
Provenance
Presented by the “Ladies of Dorchester,” members of First Parish, Dorchester, to the Rev. Moses Everett (1750 – 1813) and his bride-to-be, Lucy Balch (1748 – 1776), m. November 24, 1774. By descent to Everett’s son Francis Everett (1795 – 1835), the child of his third wife, Hannah Clap (also Clapp) (1759 – 1819), and thence to his daughter Mary C. Everett (1824 – post 1901) and William Page Barnard (1812 – 1858), m. 1854.1 Made a gift by Mary C. Everett to “Mr. Eliot,” presumably the Rev. Christopher Rhodes Eliot, pastor of the First Church, Dorchester, about 1888; by descent to his daughters, the donors.
Credit Line
Gift of Miss Martha May Eliot and Miss Abigail Adams Eliot
1774
- Daniel Parker, 1726–1785
Object Place
Boston, Massachusetts
Dimensions
4.1 x 21.7 cm (1 5/8 x 8 9/16 in.)
Accession Number
1971.319
Medium or Technique
Silver