Pepper Box Maker: William Cowell, Sr. (American, 1682–1736)

ca. 1720–30

American Decorative Arts

On view, 1st floor, American Decorative Arts before 1900

Pepper boxes were intended to serve ground pepper, but the term may have been used for any type of small-scale shaker. In the mid-eighteenth century, pepper boxes were popular in New England but were infrequently made in other colonies. This example was made in Boston by William Cowell, Sr., and is a tapering octagon that is visually broken up by applied bands. The bands around the top disguise the juncture between the body and the lid. The pierced lid slightly flares out at the base, echoing the flare of the foot. The engraved initials “TWG” on the bottom of the base may stand for Grace and Thomas Wallis.

Medium

Silver

Dimensions

3 5/16 in. (8.4 cm)
other (Lip): 1 1/2 in. (3.8 cm)
base: 2 1/4 in. (5.7 cm)

Credit Line

Mabel Brady Garvan Collection

Accession Number

1930.964a-b

Geography

Made in Boston, Massachusetts

Culture

American

Period

18th century

Classification

Containers

Disclaimer

Note: This electronic record was created from historic documentation that does not necessarily reflect the Yale University Art Gallery’s complete or current knowledge about the object. Review and updating of records is ongoing.

Provenance
Probably originally owned by Thomas Wallis and his wife Grace Waite; George C. Gebelein, Boston; Francis P. Garvan, New York (1928); gift in 1930 to Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Conn.
Bibliography
  • Patricia E. Kane, Colonial Massachusetts Silversmiths and Jewelers (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 1998), 352
  • Barbara M. Ward and Gerald W. R. Ward, eds., Silver in American Life: Selections from the Mabel Brady Garvan and Other Collections at Yale University, exh. cat. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 1979), 150, no. 158, ill
  • Kathryn C. Buhler and Graham Hood, American Silver in the Yale University Art Gallery, 2 vols. (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Art Gallery, 1970), vol. 1, p. 85, no. 91, ill
Object copyright
No Copyright - United States
Additional information

Object/Work type

pepper shakers

Marks

"W: Cowell" in cartouche (on bottom).

Inscriptions

"TWG" engraved on bottom

Technical metadata and APIs

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