Accession Number

1986.008.0974

Creation Date

circa 1700

Description

Pewter flagon. For the lid see 1986.008.0975.

Exhibition Label

A 33.5cm tall, two-handled flagon, with a curving, elongated spout, is unique in the collection of pewter vessels from the wreck of the 1700 slave ship Henrietta Marie. A matching, threaded lid was found underwater near the flagon, and it is presumed they belonged together. The flagon was badly crushed when it was discovered, and as it was being restored in the laboratory was found to contain 72 pewter spoons, indicating it was likely part of the ship’s trade cargo. An English slave-trader, who sailed to the West African Coast five years before the Henrietta Marie, noted that the Africans were very fond of “large screw’d pewter jugs;” perhaps a reference to this type of flagon.