Images(17)

Teapot

Dateca. 1808

Marked by Fletcher & Gardiner (American, 1808 - 1842)

OriginAmerica, Massachusetts, Boston

MediumSilver; wood (ebony ?)

DimensionsOH: 10 9/16"; OW (incl. handle and spout): 11"; O Diam of body: 6 3/16"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number2019-2

DescriptionSilver tea- or coffeepot: Stepped circular domed foot with columnar neck supports deep, vertically oriented ovoid body with narrow band beneath wider midband. Hinged, domed lid is surmounted by a ball finial. Broad, squared S-shaped spout on body opposite squared, D-shaped wood handle with small furl at top. Handle affixed to body with tubular silver ferrules.
Label TextBy 1808 Thomas Fletcher and Sidney Gardner had begun their partnership as retailing and manufacturing silversmiths in Boston, Massachusetts. During the ensuing thirty-four years, they would relocate to Philadelphia and become among the foremost silversmiths in the new American nation, producing a wide range of tableware and monumental trophies. This silver tea- or coffeepot is perhaps their earliest dated work. It was awarded as a prize by the Boylston Medical Committee to commemorate the academic achievements of Dr. George Cheyne Shattuck in 1807.
InscribedEngraved in script on one side: “The Premium of the Boylston Medical Committee to / George Cheyne Shattuck M. D. for the best Dissertation / on Cutaneous Diseases, and for the best Dissertation / on Biliary Concretions. -- for the year 1807.”
MarkingsMarked in relief on body inside of foot: 1) an eagle displayed, with its head to proper left, within an oval; 2) "F & G" in a rectangle; and 3) mark #1 repeated. Mark # 1 is also struck on the top of the spout in the center of the applied, reeded semi-oval
ProvenanceVendor: Beck's Antiques and Books, Fredericksburg, VA