Sauceboat

Paul Revere Jr.

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

American silver sauceboats, also called butter boats, first appeared around 1725–30 and were intended to hold the melted butter, gravy, or sauces served with meat and vegetable dishes. Sauceboats were usually made in pairs or occasionally in sets of four, to be placed at either side of the table for easy access. The earliest models, following French and English fashion, had two pouring lips and two handles, but by the 1740s single-lipped vessels became the norm. With their scalloped upper rims, freestanding double-scroll handles, bulbous knees, and pad feet, the Revere sauceboats epitomize Rococo styling. Each is inscribed on its underside with the initials "M" over "M R" for Ruth Coney and Mungo Mackay, who were married in 1763. Mungo Mackay was a Scots sea captain whom the silversmith paid in 1781 for "freight on some goods from France."

The American Wing

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The American Wing's ever-evolving collection comprises some 20,000 works of art by African American, Euro American, Latin American, and Native American men and women. Ranging from the colonial to early-modern periods, the holdings include painting, sculpture, works on paper, and decorative arts—including furniture, textiles, ceramics, glass, silver, metalwork, jewelry, basketry, quill and bead embroidery—as well as historical interiors and architectural fragments.

Metropolitan Museum of Art