Sold: Pair of Silver Beakers, William Poindexter

Pair of Silver Beakers

William Poindexter, 1818-1884

Coin silver

3-1/2″ high

Ref. No. 100310_004

SOLD

This pair bears the incised mark POINDEXTER on the bottoms. The sides are engraved Virginia Wilson in cursive script, which appears to be early work likely inscribed when originally sold through William Poindexter’s store in the 1836-1852 period. Although trained as a silversmith, (presumably by his father who worked earlier in Lexington), the son could possibly have retailed silver bearing his name, which was actually crafted in Cincinnati. Retailing others wares by a trained silversmith was a common practice in central Kentucky by the 1850s. An Edward Kinsey beaker, also listed, is very similar to this pair suggesting Poindexter could be among the retailing crowd. Both beakers are in excellent surface condition with three shallow dings on one and a shallow ding and a slight base dent on the other.