NEW ENGLAND PORRINGER—GARVAN 545 
on American altars or communion tables, the absence of the American 
porringer strongly suggests that it not only did not fit Protestant 
ritual but also that it was seldom used for drinking quantities of 
mildly alcoholic liquors.® 
Moreover, this comparative independence cannot be laid to New 
England’s provincial isolation or sturdy independence. In the matter 
of silver design, constant cultural contact and interchange took place. 
The migration of silversmiths, the semipublic church collections, and 
the descent of personal property by inheritance created a constantly 
shifting and changing pool of silver forms available to the curious 
artisan. Should he wish, he might closely follow English forms as 
did Robert Sanderson in his two-handled cup of 1670-85 which he 
chose to ornament heavily with the native American turkey and a 
farmyard hen.® Yet even in this seemingly natural choice, he had 
been anticipated by Henry Greenway of London who in 1659 placed a 
parrot and a similar turkey cock among the tulips and asters(?) of 
a nearly identical repoussé caudle cup.’ 
That New England should accept and develop the American por- 
ringer, despite such a close interchange of ideas and craftsmen, while 
Englishmen largely neglected the form, argues that in New England 
these porringers had a function not indicated by their name or by 
modern usage, and that their popularity, in fact, arose from their 
intimate adaptation to Puritan concepts and customs. Moreover, the 
evolution of the New England porringer suggests that many aspects 
of its design evolved as a consequence of Puritan idealism and homo- 
geneity and that, with the decline of the Puritan theocracy, the New 
England silver porringer tended to lose its individuality and 
eventually to disappear. 
The basic form of the New England porringer is not unique. 
Small, comparatively shallow silver vessels with one or sometimes 
two handles enjoyed popularity whenever exceedingly strong or thick 
alcoholic drinks became popular. The Scottish quaich * and English 
wine tasters both served much the same purpose as the New England 
porringer, but at the same time differed too markedly to have served 
as its progenitors. 
In base metals, porringers likewise were common. Introduced from 
France as écuelle or potage dishes, pewter porringers retained their 
form and domestic and medical usefulness from the mid-16th century 
until the mid-19th century (pl. 2, fig. 1). Because of the softness of 
the metal and heavy usage, surviving domestic examples are rare, but 
5H. Alfred Jones, The old silver of American churches, p. LXXII. Letchworth. 1913. 
6 Index of American cultures, Historical Massachusetts, No. 14, pp. 1-2. 
7 Parke-Bernet Galleries, ‘An Important Collection of Early English Silver, 1580-1820.” 
Catalog 1789, p. 37. New York. 1957. 
8Tan Finlay, Scottish gold and silver work, pls. 46-47. London. 1956. Two handles 
designed for passing ; small size for strong drink. 
