The Waterbury Democrat., 1935-09-06
Silver Exhibition
 Opens In Yale Hall
Tercentenary Celebration Feature Unique - Many
 Pieces of Historic Importance Shown to Public


 AS a part of the Connecticut Tercentenary celebration, a spe- cial loan exhibition of silver made in Connecticut in the period 17o0 to 1880 has been opened in the Yale Gallery of Fine Arts and will continue until October 1.
 This exhibition which has been installed by John Marshall Phil lips, Curator of the Mabel Brady Garvan Collections is unique in that for the first time Connecticut made silver has been shown as unit presenting important docu- mentary evidence of the social life and customs of Connecticut in Col onial and Federal times. The sil- yer falls into two major groups, domestic and ecclesiastical. The majority of the pieces shown are from the Mabel Brady Garvan Col lection with numerous additions from Connecticut churches, mu- seums and private individuals.
 Many of the pieces are of his- toric importance. Outstanding among these are: a two-handled beaker lent by the Church of Christ, Congregational, Milford, made in 1729 by Cornelius Kier- stede, who settled in New Haven, coming there from New York. It is the earliest dated piece of church silver to be made in the state. Lent by the same church Is a baptismal basin by the same maker and dating from 1731. one of the two made in Connecticut. Another rare piece by this indivi- dualistic maker is a punch bowl, boldly chased in floral design pre- sented to Thomas Darling, tutor at Yale College, by his class In 1745.
 A bell-shaped. chalice of 1773, by John Gardiner of New London, lent by the Berkeley Divinity school is of special interest in that 1t was used by Bishop Samuel Sea- bury, the first ordained American Bishop of the Protestant Episco- pal church. Another interesting piece of church plate Is a paten with moulded edge and truncated base attributed to Benjamin Wyn- koop, Jr. of Fairfield, belonging to Trinity church, Southport, which is the only piece of church plate to escape destruction in the burn Ing of Fairfield by the British in 1779.
 An interesting comparison be- tween the style of Boston and New York Is offered in the globular tea pots by Wynkoop and Potwine, the former having belonged to William Samuel Johnson, one time presi- dent of Kings College, now Col umbia university, lent by Edward Fenno Verplanck, while the latter was owned by the Welles family of Glastonbury and lent by the Honorable Sumner Welles.
 Among the pieces shown from the Garvan Collections are early pieces by Job Prince, Connecticut's earliest silversmith, Samuel Gray and Daniel Deshon of New Lon- don, three beakers of 1740, the earliest pieces made by Potwine after his removal from Boston to Hartford and formerly part of the Durham Congregational church plate. Church beakers by Otis, Fairchild, Chittenden, Marcus Mer- riman. as well as an important chronological series of spoons H. frustrating the evolution in style 1730-1S30.
 AS background to the silver there has been arranged In the same gallery examples of the al- lied crafts of the silversmith in the fields of engraving and clockmak- | ing. Among the prints are Doo- little's Battle Scenes of Lexington and Concord, The Prodigal Son se- ries, portraits of DavenpOrA Tim othy Dwight, Governor Saltonstal and Governor John Winthrop, lent by Francis P. 'Garvan; an early engraved diploma of Yale College in 1775 by Abel Buell., as well as a Connecticut copper coin minted | by Buell. in 17S5, lent by the Yale university library. Of great personal interest are i pieces made by the silversmiths for members of their own family. ,among these being spoons by Rob- ert Douglas who died In the ser vice of his country in the Revolu- tionary War, spoons by John Pot wine, us well as his account book. cream jug by James Tiley.-all lent by descendants of the original owners.
 Among the lenders are:
 Individuals: Joseph w. Alsop, Mrs. J. c. Atwater. Mrs. Thomas Watson Bali. Morgan E. Brainard. Mrs. William B. Church, Ms. George Munson Curtis, Edwin N. Dodge, William Douglas. stephen c. c. Ensko, Henry W. Frying. Mrs. Winnifred B. Foote. Francis lP. Garvan, Miss Adelaide How ell, Burgis Deshon Jennings, Miss Mary Kerby Jennings, F. B. Leete Company, Mrs. Alan V. McGcc, Miss Elizabeth B. Potwine, Mrs. Lucy Douglas Schroter. Miss Jo- sephine setse, George Dudley scy- mour. Edward Feno Verplanck. Joseph Wadsworth. Mrs. Charles IH. Warren, Honorable Sumner Welles.
 Churches: Congregational church Berlin; United Congregational church, Bridgeport: First Church of Christ, Clir<Jn; First Congrega- tional church, Derby; congrega- tional church, East Haven; Con-