Images(6)

Teapot

Dateca. 1820

Maker Asa Blanchard (fl. 1789 - 1838)

OriginAmerica, Kentucky, Lexington

MediumSilver, wood

DimensionsOH: 6 3/4"; OL: 12" (from tip of spout to tip of handle)

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number2013-26

DescriptionSilver teapot of rectangular paneled shape resting on four ball feet. Seamed under the handle. Slight saddle-shaped squared and stepped shoulder rising to stepped domed lid attached with blind hinge. Lid topped by squared mushroom finial with hollow post bearing single steam hole. Squared S-shaped spout with interior 48-hole grate pierced in a vertical rectangular pattern. Squared and grooved wooden handle (probably original) attached with single pins at junctures. Engraved on one side of the teapot "DLM" in script. Marked once on bottom in relief "A.BLANCHARD" within a rounded rectangle and once with eagle.
Label TextAsa Blanchard began his silversmithing career in 1789 Dumfries, Virginia, where he styled himself Asa Blansett. But in 1806, he moved to Lexington, Kentucky, and commenced business using the name Blanchard, a variant sometimes found in earlier family documents. Blanchard rapidly dominated silversmithing in that region, producing flatware, hollowware, and even specialty items like eyeglass frames.

Asa Blanchard worked in eastern Virginia under the name Blansett before moving to Lexington, Kentucky, in 1806. It is not known why he took an earlier version of his family surname, but Blanchard began advertising with his new moniker in 1807. He rapidly became the most prolific silversmith in Kentucky, producing boldly shaped hollowwares like this teapot. Blanchard’s ads offered “Silver Teapots, Sugar and Cream Pots, Tankards, Cans and Tumblers and all kinds of Ladles and Spoons; all kinds of Gold and Hair work; Watch and Clock work.” His clientele included Kentucky’s elite and his business thrived until his death in 1838.

InscribedEngraved on one side of the teapot "DSM" in script for Dudley (1754-1831) and Susannah (nee Allen) Mitchum (1760-1833), who married in 1779
MarkingsMarked once on bottom in relief "A.BLANCHARD" within a rounded rectangle and once with eagle.
ProvenanceDudley (1754-1831) and Susannah (nee Allen) Mitchum (1760-1833), who married in 1779
Their daughter, Susan Mitchum Ball Hall (died 1868)
Vendor: Neal Auction Company, Inc.

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