posted 07-06-2014 01:09 PM            

I found this orange strainer at an estate sale. The owner said she had purchased the strainer in the 1970s and kept the original description tag. The retailer at that time described it has a strainer from London made in 1730. I don't know how they came up with these attributions since it is not marked with a standard mark, city mark or a date mark. Since it did not have any of these markings I thought that it could have been made in the U. S.

It is a standard strainer with a simple yet decorative pattern of holes for the liquid to flow through. It does not have a hook on the rim, but does have a handle of the type often found on strainers.

It has two marks on the bottom – one looks like a maker’s mark that is worn and unfortunately is positioned over one of the holes and the other is really too worn to read. The first letter in the maker’s mark could be a B, D or R and the last letter could be the letter L. The other mark may have been a symbol rather than a letter – perhaps a leaf.

Richard Lang of Salem, Mass. is one possibility; however I have not found any reference to indicate that he added an additional mark (such as a leaf) to his wares. The top of the L has an extension going toward the R much as shown in Patricia Kane’s book. Also she notes that Richard Lang was known to have made a porringer so Lang did make hollowware.

Any ideas as to its maker or origin would be appreciated?

posted 07-07-2014 04:34 AM            

However, it is an attractive item. And in many ways I think there can be more interest in a piece that offers a bit of a challenge rather than one where there is nothing to do other than note its documentary marks!