Cream Pot
Dateca . 1750
Maker
Nicholas Roosevelt
(1715 - 1769)
MediumSilver
DimensionsHeight: 5 5/16”; Width across feet: 3 3/8”; Maximum diameter of body: 3 1/4”
Credit LineGift of Kay Justice Ridinger in memory and honor of Charles W. Ridinger III
Object number2021-71
DescriptionLarge silver cream pot with a pear-shaped body topped by a scalloped rim and an everted pouring lip, standing on three cabriole legs with shell knees and feet. Broken scroll handle with a flaring lower terminal.Label TextNicholas Roosevelt was born into a prominent Dutch New York family which spawned two Presidents of the United States who would carry the name. In his teenage years, Nicholas was apprenticed to silversmith Cornelius Wynkoop, from who he would obtain his freedom on March 20, 1738. For the next thirty years he would ply his trade as one of New York City's leading metalworkers, producing quality silver and gold hollowware. Early in the French & Indian War Roosevelt was hired to engrave tracking numbers on the muskets and bayonets newly purchased by the City of New York for its defense.
There are numerous surviving examples of Roosevelt's wares, including at least a dozen tankards, and he is thought of as having produced excellent but somewhat plain pieces. This cream pot is a perfect representative of his work, only standing out for its large size. Engraved on the front is the engraved crest and motto of the Appleton family, which has been all but polished away over the centuries.
InscribedEngraved with Appleton family crest of an elephant's head facing left and a now illegible motto within a ribbon. All engraving is extremely worn.
MarkingsMarked “N•RV” (R and V are monogram) in relief within an oval on the bottom of the body.
