The “Brown Sherman” Tea and Coffee Service

Public Domain

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Images(12)

Maker Sanju Saku(Japanese, active 1880–1920)Japanese, active 1880–1920

CultureJapanese

Titles

The “Brown Sherman” Tea and Coffee Service

Datec. 1900–02

MediumJungin silver and cloisonné enamel with ivory

DimensionsKettle with stand: 8 1/4 × 8 7/8 × 6 3/8 in. (21 × 22.5 × 16.2 cm)
Teapot: 6 1/4 × 7 7/8 × 3 7/16 in. (15.9 × 20 × 8.7 cm)
Sugar bowl: 5 1/4 × 3 3/4 × 2 15/16 in. (13.3 × 9.5 × 7.5 cm)
Creamer: 2 7/8 × 4 1/2 × 2 5/8 in. (7.3 × 11.5 × 6.7 cm)
Cha-ire: 3 15/16 × 3 1/16 diameter in. (10 × 7.8 cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by Mr. and Mrs. Laurence C. Burns

Object number2022.193.1-.5

Not on view

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Department

Asian Art

Object Type

METALWORK

ProvenanceAcquired by the Brown Sherman Family, Newport, Rhode Island, by 1902; gifted to Sophia Augusta Brown Sherman (1867-1947), daughter of John Carter Brown II (1797-1874) and Sophia Augusta Browne Brown (1825-1909) and the wife of William Watts Sherman (1842-1912) in December 1902, Pasadena, California; by family descent; [Skinner Auctions, Boston, European Furniture & Decorative Arts, January 11, 2014]; [Orientations Gallery, New York, by 2014]; purchased by the MFAH, 2022.
Exhibition History“Meiji Modern: 50 Years of New Japan,” Asia Society and Museum, New York, October 03, 2023–January 7, 2024; The David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago, March 21–June 9, 2024; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, June 30–September 15, 2024. (OL.1629)
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

Each piece is given from a different immediate relative, so the cha-ire reads "S.A.B.S. from I.M.A.S" (her daughter Irene Muriel August Sherman, who would have been 15 years old in 1902), and the sugar bowl, kettle and burner "S.A.B.S. from W.W.S." (her husband, financier and casino tycoon William Watts Sherman). The creamer is marked "S.A.B.S. from M.C.S." (her other daughter Mildred Constance Sherman, 14 years old in 1902). All are marked “Pasadena Christmas 1902.”

Kettle (.1.A): Inscribed on bottom: S.A.B.S. from W.W.S. Pasadena California Christmas 1902
Warmer (.1.D): Inscribed on bottom: S.A.B.S. / from / W.W.S. / Pasadena California / Christmas / 1902
Teapot (.2.A): Inscribed on bottom: S.A.B.S. / from / W.W.S. / Pasadena California / Christmas / 1902.
Sugar Bowl (.3): Inscribed on bottom: S.A.B.S. / from / W.W.S. / Pasadena California / Christmas / 1902
Creamer (.4): Inscription on bottom: S.A.B.S. / from / M.C.S. / Pasadena California / Christmas / 1902
Cha-ire (.5.A): Inscription on bottom: S.A.B.S. / from / I.M.A.S. / Pasadena California / Christmas / 1902.

Makers mark on bottom of all parts: [swimming sea turtle in triangle], the Sanju Saku Company of Yokohama and Tokyo.

Catalogue raisonnéNA

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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