Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-10-01
Unique Exhibit
Of Old Silver.

y" TASHINGETONIANS will short
ly be able to see a collec-
| NM ton of old colonial ecclesi-
w astical service silver gath
cred together from Washing
ton. the south and the west. This will
| be on exhibit for a certain length of
time, at the National Museum. where it
is sure to arouse interest. not alone for
the beauty of the pieces of old silver
themselves but on account of the pur-
pose for which it was assembled well.
The collection is being made under the
auspices of the Colonial Danes and the
collection here is to be one of three. the
two others being al Boston and New
! York. The purpose of thus accommodating
as FAR as possible the old silver used in
our churches is to secure exact data rel
! atlve to its antiquity, and also for the
purpose of getting up a history of the
old church silver in this country.
| A general committee of the Colonial
| DANES was appointed for the purpose of
securing the loan of all the ecclesiastical
services in the various old churches
| throughout the country in order to bring
IL all together into the three general col
| lectlons. The Washington collection is TO
contain the services of the southern and
western churches and the District. New
YORK state services will he represented
III the metropolitan Museum of Art while
| that of New England will be found in
| the Boston collection When gathered
| together it is to be catalogued and then
! examined by an old plate expert who has
come from England for this purpose. 4
| history of the old plate will then be got
| ten OUT under the auspices of the CO.
| lonlal Danes
At the present time the Washington
| collection has hardly gnOre than the
nucleus of what is hoped will be an inn
| posing collection. One service COM
| prlses three pieces-two silver chalices
each eight inches high. and a silver paten.
| i've and one-half inches in diametel'-alI
bearing the old sterling mark and en-
graved st. AIMS Parish Essex County"
| 1hese are, OF course, from the Virginia
| church of that name.
| This service dates back to 1924 when
! It was presented to the st. AIMS Parish,
| founded some eighty years before in
| Essex county. There was a tradition in
| the parish to the effect that the service
was presented by Queen Ann. But on in
! Nestlsation it was found that such a be-
! lief was unfounded, as Queen Ann died
| in 1114. The service, dated ten years
| later. is thought, however to come
| from the fund she established and which
| was known as Queen AIMS Bounty"
| one of the cups and the paten were lost
| Tor many years and We're only discovered
in 1909. when the Rev. Thomas D. Lewis
| then rector of the parish, learned of their
location and succeeded in purchasing
| them from Charles A. Mum of New
| York. Mr. Mum had purchased them
| from New York firm three years prior.
| but realizing the claim of the parish, let
them go Up. to the time of their pur
chase from the New York firm by Mr.
! Mum no history of the lost cup and
paten is available.
| However, they were described and listed
with cut in the 1903 edition of Bucks
| ''Oid Plate" The present rector of St
AIMS Parish accounts for the loss of
| these two pieces by the fact that at one
| time two churches existed in the parish,
| between which the silver was undoubted-
| ly divided. OF the two churches, one
was known as Vawters, while the other
! an old church. was abandoned after the
revolutionary war, and later destroyed.
! The silver, it is thought was probably
appropriated and sold. in which case it
would have been lost for nearly 125 years.
| x =.
| There iseanother old church. that at
| Fort Defiance, Va, which has sent four
pieces. These consist of paten, chalice
| fiagon for holding the communion wine.
and the tray which it rests. Several
| other services are expected within a
short time from various places in the
south and west.
| Not less interesting than the facts
| concerning the coming exhibit are those
surrounding the beginning of the idea
which has thus resulted The first col
| lection, at least which created such
widespread interest was that shown at
the jamestown exposition in 1907. The
collection at that time was not only quite
extensive, but exceedingly beautiful eS-
pecially that sent by Massachusetts, The
| collection reused such interest that the
Colonial Danes decided that further
effort should be made in an endeaVor to
secure some history of the old eccleSiasti-
Throughout the country. 1t was after the
determination to do this had been formed
| that the committee was appointed and
the present task begun.
| The Boston collection has already been
assembled and catalogued, while the
New York collection will shortly be in
similar condition. At the present time
the English old plate expert e o. Jones'
| who will make a careful study of the
| collections for the Colonial Danes is in
New York, where he has already begun
his work.
| In speaking about the work Mr. Jones
said that this country abounded in silver
|
The thing that has impressed me
most" he said. is the remarkable rich
ness of the New England churches in
I
examined fully 1000 examples of colonial
church vessels. l always thought the
colonists were comparatively poor Yet
| in tracing these church vessels, by
searching through wills. inventories and
| similar records of the colonial period |
have been struck with the wealth of the
people.
! Even that fact however does not ex
plain the great number and value of the
! New England church vessels. We know
| of course. that there We're quantities of
| plate in the colonies. Yet one associates
church silver with ritual; Puritan
| churches seem to have been pervaded
| with a spirit that the antithesis of
| this
| While Mr.. Jones spoke only of the
silver of New England. it was because
MS study had been concerned with the
| Boston collection only up to that time.
| In the New York collection he will prob
ably find other specimens of silver while