Coffeepot

Public Domain

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Maker Ebenezer Smith, Jr.(American, 1773–1848)American, 1773–1848

CultureAmerican

Titles

Coffeepot

Datec. 1814–1825

Made inBeverly, Massachusetts, United States

MediumPewter with unidentified wood

Dimensions11 3/4 × 10 1/4 × 6 in. (29.8 × 26 × 15.2 cm)

Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of the family of Dr. James J. Butler in memory of Michael K. Brown

Object numberB.2013.32

Non exposé

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Department

Bayou Bend

Object Type

METALWORK

DescriptionEbenezer Smith may have served his apprentice under Israel Trask (B.53.9); certainly, his coffeepots are closely related in design and construction to those from Trask’s shop. This so-called lighthouse shape is recognized as among the noblest American interpretations of the form, its profile apparently derived from earlier silver examples or perhaps contemporary ceramics. Another relationship to silver is the bright-cut engraved border and fanciful cartouche.
ProvenanceDr. and Mrs. James J. Butler, Houston; given to MFAH, 2013.
Published References Ledlie Irwin Laughlin. Pewter in America: Its Makers and Their Markers. Barre, Mass: Barre Publishers, 1969. Charles F. Montgomery. A History of American Pewter. New York Dutton, 1978. David B. Warren, et al. American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Collection. [Houston, Tex.]: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston in association with Princeton University Press, 1998, Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

[no inscriptions]

Stamped on underside center: E. SMITH

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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