Tori Barrett/Ewer

The ewer was a large based helmet shaped presentation. It has a scrolled handle with "foliate" decoration; and air vent below. The creator of this artwork is Baldwin Gardiner. Gardiner was born in 1791. The medium is silver. The pitcher combines hand craftsmanship with machine work. Most of it is "repousse", a labor-intensive technique that involves hammering from the inside but the border around the "lip" and the central band are "die-rolled" Die rolled is a less expensive machine process that made patterns in strips of silver that could then be attached to the peace.  Baldwin Gardiner was the younger brother of Boston and Philadelphia silversmith Sidney Gardiner. Both men were born in Long Island, to John Gardiner of that town and Abigail Worth of Nantucket, Massachusetts. Shortly after the death of Sidney Gardiner in 1827, Baldwin Gardiner moved to New York, where he established a furnishings warehouse called "B. Gardiner and Co" He sold imported French plateaus,lamps, etc. In 1832, he operated a steam-driven manufactory. Not all of Baldwins work was marked on site. Baldwins factory had many different creations such as cheese knives, spoons and tongs.