Along with a tankard and a porringer bearing the same maker’s mark, this cann was once attributed to John Doane’s older brother Joshua Doane (1717 – 1753), of Providence, Rhode Island. Both men probably apprenticed with John Burt, and in the 1740s the younger Doane may have worked with William Simpkins. Despite John Doane’s respectable career in public service as a constable and treasurer in Boston, his grandfather left him only twenty shillings in 1755 as punishment for his “ill, wild Carriage.” Doane may have left Boston shortly thereafter for Barbados, where he died in 1767.
Doane’s pride in workmanship is evident in this cann, which has cleanly cast elements and ample proportions The tiny air vents on the handle are carefully made and delicately placed, unlike the coarse gashes found on the work of most silversmiths of the period, including that of his master. This cann is one of only three objects that have been identified by Doane’s rectangular mark.

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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