Tankard 1765 - 1775

This silver tankard was crafted by Cary Dunn, a silversmith active in Alexandria, Virginia, during the late 18th century. While seemingly a simple vessel for drink, objects like this speak volumes about the social and economic structures of their time. Consider the context in which Dunn, a white man, created this object. Alexandria was a bustling port city deeply enmeshed in the slave trade. Wealth, status, and craftsmanship were interwoven with the realities of enslaved labor. Whose labor extracted the metals, and who were the consumers of such luxury goods? The tankard might have been used in taverns, spaces where political discussions and social networks flourished among white men. We are left to ask, what stories could this tankard tell about the distribution of power and the experiences of those excluded from such spaces? It serves as a potent reminder of the complex intersections of artistry, identity, and the historical currents of inequality.