Images(11)

Teapot

Dateca. 1795

Marked by Asa Blansett

OriginAmerica, Virginia, Dumfries

MediumSilver; wood

DimensionsOH: 6 1/2"; OW including handle and spout: 11 1/2"; Base: 3 11/16" x 5 1/2"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase, Hugh Trumbull Adams Fund

Object number2017-3,A&B

DescriptionStraight-sided oval teapot, seamed under handle, with flat base and narrow beaded border at lower and upper edges; flat oval shoulder slopes to pierced gallery at upper opening of teapot. Low domed loose lid with fully modeled pineapple with upper and lower leaves (upper leaves curled tightly downward), with threaded post and nut on interior of lid. Straight spout with interior piercing in a tear-drop pattern opposite straight handle sockets with narrow beaded edges. Plain C-scroll wooden handle (probably replaced). Engraved on one side of teapot with a script "D" inside a bright-cut oval reserve. Marked on bottom of teapot twice in relief "A . Blansett" in a stepped rectangle.
Label TextAsa Blansett (born?-died September 15, 1838) of Dumfries, Virginia, advertised that he had trained in both New York and Philadelphia. This teapot, one of only two currently known by Blansett, has unmistakable Philadelphia features such as its use of narrow beaded borders, a pierced gallery, and a fully-modeled pineapple finial. Colonial Williamsburg also owns a sugar basket by Blansett (2003-133), a form with which he is most closely associated. In 1806, Blansett moved to Lexington, Kentucky, and established himself as a silversmith working under the name Asa Blanchard. A later teapot (2013-26) and pair of sugar tongs (2016-24) by Blanchard are also at Colonial Williamsburg.
InscribedEngraved on one side of teapot with a script "D" inside a bright-cut oval reserve.
MarkingsMarked on bottom of teapot twice in relief "A . Blansett" in a stepped rectangle.