Cream Pot
Dateca. 1755-1770
Maker
Samuel Casey
(ca. 1724 - ca. 1773)
MediumSilver
DimensionsHeight: 3 13/16”; Width across handle and spout: 4”; Max. Diameter: 2 7/16”; Weight: 3 oz.
Credit LineBequest of Joseph H. and June S. Hennage
Object number2020-288
DescriptionSilver cream pot with plain pear-shaped body with a scalloped rim and an everted pouring lip standing on three short cabriole legs with trifid feet. Broken scroll handle with acanthus leaf grip and scrolled lower terminal.Label TextThis is a charming example of a pre-Revolutionary cream pot, but that's not what makes it truly special. It was wrought by Samuel Casey, a Rhode Island silversmith who became more famous for his clandestine creations than his wares. After his house and shop burned to the ground in 1764 and facing potential ruin, Casey applied his skills to the counterfeiting of Portuguese gold coins, Spanish silver pistareens, and Mexican silver dollars.
In 1770 he was arrested on charges of counterfeiting and acquitted, until the judge in the case over turned the verdict and sentenced Casey to death by hanging. Luckily for him, a mob violently broke him out of jail, and he fled Rhode Island, never to be seen there again. Examples of Casey's legitimate metalwork, like this cream pot, are very scarce today, and serve to champion the legacy of a very colorful artisan of the late colonial period.
InscribedBottom engraved "S" over "E * P."
MarkingsBottom struck with "S:CASEY" in relief within a rectangle.
ProvenancePurchased from S.J. Shrubsole (New York), May 24, 1996.
