Description:
Teapot and coffee pot with hinged lid (1-2), creamer with hinged lid (3), sugar with lid (4, 4a).
Label Text:
Much of what we know about this set comes from the original 1832 receipt and the hallmarks impressed into the silver. Some of these marks look deceptively British: the reign mark of George III, the lion signifying sterling, and a letter noting the date. Why would a prominent American silversmith include marks that were meant to deceive? Would a savvy 19th-century New Yorker sneak a glimpse at the hallmarks when their host’s tea was poured? This beautiful silverware prompts conversations about America and Great Britain’s complicated 19th-century relationship given their somewhat recent non-amicable divorce, and the evolving sense of refinement and etiquette in a country coming into its own.
-Aaron Miller, Assocaite Curator of Visual and Material Culture, Mount Holyoke College Art Museum (Sept. 2016)
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=MH+2014.25.1-4a |
