Salver

Salver
Attributed to Richard Humphreys, c. 1783
Silver

Status

On view

Label Text

This large, unmarked salver was possibly crafted in Richard Humphrey's shop based on the similarity of its cast and applied border to known Philadelphia examples. The handling of George Washington's engraved crest is also comparable to that seen on camp cups and spoons Humphreys supplied Washington with in 1780. Washington probably purchased the salver in Philadelphia while en route to Mount Vernon after the Revolution. Once back in Virginia, he still needed more footed trays to hold wineglasses when entertaining. He commissioned Alexandria silversmith Edward Sanford for two smaller salvers modeled after this Philadelphia-made piece.

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Datec. 1783

Possible maker Richard Humphreys (American, 1749 - 1832)

Geography Made - United States

Medium/TechniqueSilver

DimensionsOverall (Diameter): 1 3/4 in. × 11 5/8 in. × 11 3/4 in. (4.45 cm × 29.53 cm × 29.85 cm)

Credit LineGift of Mary Lee Bowman and Robert E. Lee IV, 1981 Conservation courtesy of the Life Guard Society of Historic Mount Vernon

Object numberW-2515

DescriptionFlat circular salver with raised and shaped rim featuring eleven bracket-like segments separated by foliate scrolls. A cast gadrooned or ropelike border with eleven foliate points positioned between the scrolls is applied to the outer edge of the rim. Three, short, cast and applied cabriole legs with acanthus leaf knees and ball-and-claw feet. Tray is engraved at center with George Washington's crest: a winged griffin, facing the viewer's left, issuing from a ducal coronet.
Published ReferencesKathryn C. Buhler, Mount Vernon Silver (Mount Vernon, VA: The Mount Vernon Ladies' Association, 1957), 36-7, 39, fig. 16.

Cadou, Carol Borchert, The George Washington Collection: Fine and Decorative Arts at Mount Vernon (New York: Hudson Hills Press, 2006), pp. 118-9, cat. 33.

Lossing, Benson J. Mount Vernon and Its Associations, Historical, Biographical and Pictorial (New York: 1859), pp. 251-52 (ill.).

Fales, Martha Gandy, "The Silver," Antiques 135, no. 2 (February 1989): 520-1, pl. IV.

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