This alms dish was one of two commissioned by the Second Congregational Society of Marblehead, Massachusetts. For the purchase of the first dish, £30 were bequeathed to the church in the 1726/27 will of Deacon Richard Skinner, shoreman; the Skinner arms and a Latin inscription are emblazoned on the rim. The second dish, seen here, was purchased the following year. In contrast to the Skinner basin, this example bears only the name of the church and a simple dedication to Reverend Holyoke, following the pattern for most of the Marblehead silver.
These alms dishes were the only two that Jacob Hurd made during his long career. Of large diameter and exceptionally heavy weight, they added considerable luster to a communion service that was already impressive by the late 1720s. Hurd was a natural choice for the congregation, for in the previous decade, they had chosen his chief predecessors, John Coney and John Burt, whose careers were similarly long and prolific, to provide silver for the communion table.

This text has been adapted from "Silver of the Americas, 1600-2000," edited by Jeannine Falino and Gerald W.R. Ward, published in 2008 by the MFA. Complete references can be found in that publication.

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