Charleston Loan Exhibition

39 Moreau Sarrazin (1710–1761) Serving spoon Charleston, SC, ca. 1750 Silver H. 15¾ inches Engraved at the top: POSTERITATI ; stamped: MS four times on the back of the handle Lent by The Charleston Museum, Charleston, SC, 1998.066 Working in Charleston by the 1730s, Moreau Sarrazin advertised that customers could have their plate or seals en- graved, as well as purchase motto, mourning rings and all manner of “Goldsmith’s, Jeweller’s and Silversmith’s Work” at his shop. 1 Sarrazin marked the reverse of this hefty serving spoon four times—a common practice among colonial Charleston silversmiths—most probably to imitate the number of marks found on imported English wares. The spoon is engraved with the seal of the South Carolina Society, a men’s social and benevolent society. Founded in 1737 by French Huguenot artisans and merchants, the society gained great prestige and members were among the highest ranking of Charleston society. On September 16, 1737, Sarrazin was the eleventh member elected into the society. In 1738 he served as the clerk and as steward in 1748. It is probable that the spoon was made for a commemorative function or for one of Sarrazin’s fellow South Carolina Society members. In the twentieth century, such long-handled spoons became associated with the serving of rice, grown in the Carolinas into the early-twentieth century and a staple on Lowcountry tables. BSC 1. South Carolina Gazette, Charleston SC, December 8, 1746. John Miot (1740–1791) Shoe buckles Charleston, SC, ca. 1769 Silver H. 2 x W. 3 inches Engraved on reverse: Peter Manigault 1769; stamped on reverse: (a) IM at proper right, scratched with XXXXXMXIV; (b) IM at proper right side on bottom corner Lent by The Charleston Museum, Charleston, SC, 1961.13.a,b Born in Ireland, John Miot was working in Charleston by the early 1770s. Advertising as a jeweler and goldsmith, he repeatedly noted that he had in stock “a VARIETY” of gold and silver shoe, knee and stock buckles decorated with stones, paste or gilt. While he emphasized his imported wares, Miot also noted that he mended and made “all Kinds of Jewellery” and plate in his shop. 1 These buckles bear Miot’s maker’s mark and the name of their owner, Peter Manigault (1731–1773), one of the wealthiest men in British North America. Manigault, a planter and notable member of the South Carolina Assembly, was well known for his material riches. BSC 1. South Carolina Gazette , Charleston, SC, June, 25, 1772; South Carolina and American Gazette , Charleston, SC, September 23, 1774; The City Gazette or the Daily Advertiser , Charleston, SC, November 2, 1790.