Peter Bentzon (–) was an American silversmith. He was one of the first known silversmiths in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

who was of

African descent Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in s ...

. Some of Bentzon's silverwork has been identified, as he marked all his works with his initials.

Biography

Peter Bentzon was born in

Saint Croix Saint Croix; nl, Sint-Kruis; french: link=no, Sainte-Croix; Danish and no, Sankt Croix, Taino: ''Ay Ay'' ( ) is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands (USVI), an unincorpo ...

in the Danish West Indies. He was born a

free person of color In the context of the history of slavery in the Americas, free people of color (French: ''gens de couleur libres''; Spanish: ''gente de color libre'') were primarily people of mixed African, European, and Native American descent who were not ...

. Bentzon's mother was a

mulatto (, ) is a racial classification to refer to people of mixed African and European ancestry. Its use is considered outdated and offensive in several languages, including English and Dutch, whereas in languages such as Spanish and Portuguese is ...

woman, and his father was white man who was surnamed Bentzon. He had fair skin complexion, which afforded him more opportunities and a larger social circle during this time. Bentzon apprenticed in silversmithing () and learned his trade in

, U.S. Virgin Island; and in Philadelphia. A few years later he opened his own silver shop in Philadelphia. Bentzon's work can be found in public museum collections including the

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin Fr ...

, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Saint Louis Art Museum, Seattle Art Museum, the

Colonial Williamsburg Foundation Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in the city of Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has 7300 employees at this location and ...

, the African American Museum, the

Krannert Art Museum The Krannert Art Museum (KAM) is a fine art museum located at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Champaign, Illinois, United States. It has of space devoted to all periods of art, dating from ancient Egypt to contemporary photography ...

, and the Winterthur Museum.

References

1780s births 1850 deaths People from the Danish West Indies American silversmiths African-American artisans African-American history in Philadelphia Emigrants from the Danish West Indies to the United States {{Africandiaspora-stub