The Ebenezer Withington cup: An American silver two-handled cup, William Cowell, Sr., Boston, circa 1710

the lower body fluted and gadrooned, gadrooned collar and S-scroll handles, inscribed on bottom Ebenezer Withington to the Church in Dorchester, the underside with Ebenezer Withington in conetemporary script

Gift of Ebenezer Withington in 1721 to
First Parish in Dorchester, Dorchester, MA, gifted to
Church of the Unity, Neponset, 1882

Boston: Museum of Fine Arts, loan, 1938-2011

William Blake Trask, Early Matters Relating to the Town and First Church of Dorchester, 1886 pgs. 9-10.
George Munson Curtis ad Florence Virginia Berger, American Church Silver of the 17th and 18th Centuries,1911,  No. 288.
E. Alfred Jones, The Old Silver of American Churches, 1913, p. 150-51.
Frances Hill Bigelow, Historic Silver of the Colonies and its Makers, 1917, p. 123.
Patricia E. Kane, Colonial Massachusetts Silversmiths and Jewelers, 1998, p. 351.

good condition, elaborate and impressive form
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The donation of the present lot to the First Church of Dorchester is recorded in the Church's archives--  on 22 May 1721, Deacon and Ruling Elder Daniel Preston (the father of Remember Preston the donor of lot 109 and great-grandfather of Sarah Preston Adams donor of lot 116 and 123) accounted that "a New Piece of plate given to y^e Church for the Lords Supper by M^r Eben: Withington." 

Ebenezer Withington was born in Dorchester, MA on 7 September 1651, the second son of Richard Withington (1618-1701) and his wife Elizabeth Eliot (1627-1714).  His younger brother Philip Withington (1659-1736) was the donor of the David Jesse beaker offered as lot 111. Withington was made a selectmen for the town in 1685, and a freeman on 18 April 1690.  He married firstly Mary, who died on 10 January 1691.  He married his second wife, Mary Royal (1670-1763), daughter of Isaac Royal and Ruth Tolman,  in Dorchester on 2 February 1693.  The couple had at least one son, Ebenezer Withington Jr., who was born in December 1693.  As the making of this caudle cup predates the account of Withington's bequest by over a decade and his death by nearly twenty years, it was almost certainly used in his home prior to his death.  On 4 January 1882, the Church voted to give one piece of plate to the other parishes in town, including the Third Church, the Harrison Square Church and the Church of the Unity, Neponset.  Although the present lot was gifted to Neponset, it had been reunited with the rest of the Church's collection by the time it was exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston in 1938.