John Bayly
Cream Pot (Creamer)

MakerAmerican, active c. 1754–1806
CultureAmerican
Titles
  • Cream Pot (Creamer)
Datec. 1754–1782
Possible placeDelaware, United States
Possible placePhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
MediumSilver
Dimensions4 3/8 × 4 1/8 × 2 3/4 in. (11.1 × 10.5 × 7 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of Miss Ima Hogg
Object numberB.69.100
Current Location
Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Metals Study Room
Exposé

Explore Further

Department
Bayou Bend
Object Type
Description

Engraving—incising with a graver—is a method of decorating and inscribing silver. Initials were engraved for a variety of reasons, including to communicate a sense of style, to suggest position in society, and from a more practical point of view to identify property as attested by a contemporary notice: “Stolen or taken away from Lewis Grant, in Market street, above the coffee-house, on the 22d instant, a silver Cream pot, market (marked)  L G M, maker John Buly (Bayly). Whoever takes up the thief or pot, shall have 15s. by applying to the Printer.” Initials ranged from simple block letters to graceful mirror-image ciphers consistent with a Late Baroque aesthetic.  The presence of both on this example implies that the former were intended for identification, the latter purely decorative.

Technical notes: In contrast with B.69.112, the spout is integral. 

Related examples: Antiques 100 (July 1971), p. 16; Bartlett 1984, p. 15.

Book excerpt: David B. Warren, Michael K. Brown, Elizabeth Ann Coleman, and Emily Ballew Neff. American Decorative Arts and Paintings in the Bayou Bend Collection. Houston: Princeton Univ. Press, 1998.


ProvenanceBy tradition Phebe Coates (Mrs. Samuel Lane, 1754–1807, m. by 1782), Phoenixville, Pennsylvania; Edward Eastman Minor (1876–1953), Mount Carmel, Connecticut, by 1945; given to his daughter Margaret Eastman Minor Prince (1913–1968), Chevy Chase, Maryland; purchased by Miss Ima Hogg, 1954; given to MFAH, 1969.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Engraved beneath the spout: the reverse cipher CP
Engraved underneath body: P+C
Underneath body: mark of John Bayly [Warren 1975, p. 165, no. 315]

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.

Coffeepot
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Cream Pot (Creamer)
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Cream Pot (Creamer)
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Cream Pot or Creamer (part of a tea and coffee service)
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Cream Pot (Creamer)
c. 1750–1765
Lead-glazed earthenware (agate ware)
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Cream Pot or Creamer (one of a pair)
c. 1770–1820
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Cream Pot or Creamer (one of a pair)
c. 1770–1820
Lead glass
B.78.16.1
Cream Pot (Creamer)
c. 1820–1840
Lead-glazed earthenware (pearlware) with overglaze enamel
B.58.75