A Cup by America’s First Silversmiths

Popular in the 17th and 18th centuries, a caudle cup is a small, two-handled vessel with a bulbous body and a tapered neck. Most were made of silver, a beautiful and valuable metal. Its two handles make it easy to pass from one person to another.

Though it gets its name from caudle, an often-alcoholic porridge, other types of food and drink were also served from these vessels. In some cases, such as with this particular cup, they contained wine for a church’s communion service.

This caudle cup is exhibited at the Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg. Simple in form and decoration, both handles are delicately scrolled, the only embellishments on a beautiful but plain vessel created to meet the conservative tastes of 17th-century New England.

Notably, the cup has a few distinctive surface markings: two overlapping makers’ marks of three of America's earliest silversmiths, the ownership mark of a church, and a centering punch. These are essential in identifying its makers and in revealing its history.

The bottom of the cup is stamped with silversmith John Hull’s mark.

When intact, Hull’s mark is of an “IH” over a fleur-de-lis within a heart, illustrated here in red. Silversmiths commonly used their initials in their marks, and at this time the letters “I” and “J” were interchangeable.

Below the lip of the cup is the mark of silversmith Robert Sanderson, shown upside down here. Difficult to make out, only the “R” is visible.

When complete, Sanderson’s mark includes his initials of “RS” below a sunburst or flower, shown here in red.

Hull’s mark, depicted here in red, was struck over the mark of his apprentice, Dummer, shown here in blue. While we see most of Hull’s mark, only a portion of Dummer’s mark is visible underneath.

When complete, Dummer’s mark is similar to Hull’s. It includes his initials of “ID” over a fleur-de-lis within a heart, shown here in blue.

Also engraved on the bottom of the cup is a large “FC,” which stands for “Farmington Church” in Connecticut. The deep divot between the initials is a centering punch remaining from when the cup was being made.

The “Farmington Church” referenced by the “FC” is the First Church of Christ, Congregational, in Farmington, Connecticut. The Puritan congregation owned this cup from about 1670 until they sold it in 2005 along with other caudle cups. The current building was completed in 1772.

The caudle cups owned by the church were photographed for E. Alfred Jones’s book The Old Silver of American Churches, published in 1913. This cup is in the top row on the right, and it is the oldest of the group.

Hull and Sanderson’s silversmithing descendants include Paul Revere of American Revolution fame. Similarly, this silver porringer made by Revere can be viewed as a descendant of a 17th-century caudle cup.

Hull and Sanderson, with the help of Dummer, are also famous for minting the first silver coinage in what would become the United States. This Pine Tree shilling was struck at their shop between 1665 and 1677.

Admired for its utility and form, Colonial Williamsburg’s caudle cup is a fine example of colonial American silversmithing. Most notably, of the over 200 surviving pieces of silver made jointly or individually by Hull, Sanderson, and Dummer, this cup is the only one to carry the marks of all three silversmiths.