Dish 1806 - 1815

This dish was made by George Lightner, an American craftsman active in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It's made of pewter, an alloy of tin and lead, a common material for domestic objects before mass-produced ceramics became available. Lightner was a successful pewterer, and would have used a combination of casting, hammering, and lathe turning to create this dish. Molten pewter would be poured into a mold to form the basic shape, and then hammered to refine its form and density. Finally, a lathe would have been used to smooth the surface and create the raised rim. Pewter objects like these were made in multiples, but each piece bears the marks of the maker’s hand. Consider the labor involved in extracting and refining the raw materials, the skill required to cast and turn the metal, and the social context in which such objects were valued. This humble dish speaks volumes about early American material culture.