Images(15)

Coffeepot

Date1770-1780

Marked by Richard Humphreys (1750 - 1832)

OriginAmerica, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia

MediumSilver; wood

DimensionsOH: 13 ½”; OL (handle to spout): 10 3/4"; ODiam (widest point of body): 5 ¼”

Credit LineBequest of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph H. Hennage

Object number2020-250

DescriptionSilver coffeepot: Stepped circular foot with band of gadrooning supports tall double-bellied baluster body with hinged, high stepped domed lid surmounted by swirled bell-shaped finial. S-shaped spout with acanthus furl at top, asymmetrical foliate cartouche at base, and molded juncture to body affixed opposite an ebonized C-scroll handle with scrolled sockets.
Label TextRichard Humphreys was born in 1750 to a Quaker family on Tortola Island in the British West Indies. He was sent to Philadelphia to apprentice as a silversmith with Philip Syng. After a successful career, he died in Philadelphia in 1832, leaving a bequest in his will of $10,000 to support the education of Blacks. His legacy created the foundation of Cheyney University, the oldest school of higher education in the United States established for the Black community.
MarkingsMarked on base five or more times (overstruck) “R Humphreys” in script in a shaped rectangular reserve
ProvenanceCoffeepot descended in the Taggart family of Pennsylvania

Exhibition(s)