posted 03-17-2019 11:08 PM            

This humble portrayal of a family piece reminded me of a description in an old Natchez silver catalog from 1970. Here they described the Gorham marks as pseudo-hallmarks and in a like manner to the speculative pewter tail story wondered if a slave named Ezekiel really was the maker of the silver beaker.

Research has come a long way since this 1970 Natchez silver exhibition. I am surprised however how much speculation seems to still continue to creep into description of objects and how they were made.

quote:

---

Holstein Cow
American School, 19th century
carved and polychromed wood and pewter
Height 22 1/2 in. by Length 34 1/2 in.
second half-19th century
Eastern United States

Catalogue Note:
This unique carved wooden vane depicts a Holstein dairy cow, the world's most productive milk producer and a favorite of farmers in the northeastern U.S. to this day. The maker was probably a dairy farmer who owned a herd of Holsteins, and the completely different black and white patterns he painted on either side of the vane suggest he may have been creating a portrait of a specific animal. The cow's thin tail is pewter, a malleable alloy of tin that was widely used to make tableware from the Bronze Age into the late nineteenth century. One wonders if the maker of this vane melted down a couple of the family's spoons to shape into his cow's tail.

---