Cann c. 1764

Curator: Here we have a "Cann" by Thomas Coverly, residing here at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It’s quite striking! There's a certain austerity to it, a cool elegance in the simplicity of the form. I immediately want to know about the labor involved in crafting this from silver. Curator: The inscription indicates it was a gift to the First Church of Christ in Weymouth in 1764. A gift of faith, perhaps, or community. Silver, of course, holding special status across many cultures. Editor: Exactly! Consider the silversmith’s expertise required to raise this vessel, the hammering and annealing. This object embodies both skill and status. Who was drinking from it, and on what occasions? Curator: The "cann" itself, as a vessel, suggests communal drinking, shared rituals. It’s a quiet, functional object imbued with symbolic weight by its material and purpose. Editor: Seeing the marks of labor gives us insight into colonial American craft. It helps us challenge notions of fine art versus functional object. It makes me think about the economy of the time. Curator: It truly brings forth the connection between material, maker, and community. Editor: I will think differently about the role of objects that bind communities together, now.