Early American Silver - 07_39 (scroll down to see image)

A Fine Early American Cann (SOLD)
Boston, 1766 by Paul Revere, Jr.
Height: 5 1/8", Weight: 12 ozs.

Provenance: Zachariah Johonnot (1702-1784) of Boston.

Literature: Kathryn C. Buhler, American Silver 1655-1825 in the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, 1972, no. 355, p. 407. The monogram I over ZE is for Zachariah and Elizabeth (Waldron) Johonnot. This cann is recorded in Paul Revere’s Daybook on March 3, 1766 and was one of a pair. The matching example is in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Zachariah Johonnot was a frequent patron of Paul Revere, commissioning both religious and domestic plate. He commissioned a baptismal basin and flagon, in 1761 and 1773, respectively, for the Hollis Street Church in Boston. The Revere Daybooks include listings for a pair of candlesticks (!), 1762, a second pair of candlesticks(!!), 1763, a tankard engraved with Johonnot arms in 1763, the engraving of a salver with his arms in that same year, and the pair of canns ordered in 1766. Two sauce boats, circa 1765, are now in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.

Zachariah Johonnot was a distiller and merchant. Born 1701/02 in Boston, he married Elizabeth Quincy about 1723, and secondly Elizabeth Waldron in 1759. He married thirdly Margaret Le Mercier in 1777, the daughter of the French Protestant minister in Boston. Upon Zachariah’s death in 1784, his son Peter was bequeathed his store, a house, and two pairs of Revere candlesticks and a salver. Peter, a Loyalist, died in London in 1809. Another son, Col. Gabriel Johonnot, remained in Boston. (See: Buhler, op. cit., pp. 405-407; Patricia Kane, Colonial Massachusetts Silversmiths and Jewelers, 1998, pp. 806-824; A. E. Jones, The Old Silver of American Churches, 1913, pp. 82-83.)

An Early American Tablespoon
Boston, circa 1770 by Paul Revere, Jr.
Length: 8 1/4"

An Early American Teaspoon
Boston, circa 1770 by Paul Revere, Jr.
Length: 5 1/4"

This is a nice piece of Revere because it has a very pretty rococo cartouche at the top of the stem, and a fancy back bowl.