Museum Collections

This Neoclassical ladle was made by the partnership of Joseph and Teunis D. DuBois, brothers of mixed Huguenot and Dutch descent from Monmouth County, New Jersey, who worked together in New York City for a brief period between June 1795 and spring 1797. Teunis's account book documenting his sales to silver retailers between 1797 and 1813 records the sale of four types of ladles: soup (100), butter (20), gravy (8), and punch (2). Given the predominance of soup ladles in his accounting, coupled with the relatively frequent survival of the form shown here, it seems likely that this example was originally intended for soup. The ladle bears the engraved initials of John Lincklaen (1768-1822), who married Helen Ledyard in 1797. Their wedding date corresponds with the brief partnership of the DuBois brothers, suggesting that the ladle may have been presented to the couple as a wedding gift.