Images(4)

Coffeepot

Date1825-1850

OriginAmerica, Connecticut or New York (probably)

MediumTinned sheet iron; iron wire; copper alloy (brass); asphaltum (by eye); paint (tole)

DimensionsOverall: 10 1/2 x 9 3/4 x 6 1/2in. (26.7 x 24.8 x 16.5cm)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1981.808.1

DescriptionCoffeepot of "lighthouse" form set on a convex-curved base, with attached, hinged lid, and gooseneck spout. The body is of tin-coated sheet iron (tinplate), covered with a rich dark-brown asphaltum, over which flower and foliage decorations have been painted in red, dark green, and yellow. A small simple brass know tops the lid. Seven yellow petals radiate from the brass knob, while below, circling the outer edge of the lid, is a yellow swag or double comma design. The two sides of the pot are painted similarly but not identically. Basically side decoration consists of a large red bulbous-form flower with two large petals on either side; this tops a "stem" of yellow leaves, with two large dark green leaves veined and partially outlined in yellow springing from it; above the large bloom is a spray of yellow and green leaves mixed, with some bulbous red buds or fruits and some oblong shaped red buds. Very small "flowers" consisting of a yellow dot surrounded by six others are scattered--four on one side and three on the other. The base decoration consists of two yellow leaves with a longer third one in the middle, each 3-leaf bunch laid horizontally end-to-end to form a band of decoration, with two yellow dots appearing at each juncture. The coffeepot handle has a thumb rest and curved finger grip.
Label TextCoffeepots and teapots were among the first household articles to be fashioned from tinplated sheet iron. Teapots usually had a one-piece curving spout while coffeepots often featured a "gooseneck" formed by an elbow joint in the spout.
MarkingsScratched through the ground coat on bottom is "Ls/ws" in what appears to be a modern script.
ProvenanceDavid Pottinger, Topeka, Indiana.