Maker
Allen Porter (American, c. 1799–1862)American, c. 1799–1862
CultureAmerican
Titles
- Teapot
Datec. 1829–1842
Possible placeHartford, Connecticut, United States
Possible placeWestbrook, Maine, United States
MediumBritannia metal
Dimensions10 7/8 × 10 1/2 × 4 1/2 in. (27.6 × 26.7 × 11.4 cm)
Credit LineThe Bayou Bend Collection, gift of Mrs. James Walker Cain
Object numberB.71.96
Current Location
Bayou Bend Collection and Gardens
Metals Study Room
On view
Explore Further
Department
Bayou BendObject Type
Allen Porter is the earliest of Maine’s Britannia manufacturers whose work is known. He appears to have divided his time between Westbrook and Hartford until 1842, when he left New England for Racine, Wisconsin, to set up a cabinetmaking shop.
Technical notes: Concentric rings attest that the components were spun on a lathe.
Related examples: Antiques 32 (November 1937), p. 241; Churchill 1992, p. 7.
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.
ProvenanceMrs. James Walker Cain (Dixon Hill Cain), Houston; given to MFAH, 1971.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
[no inscriptions]
On underside: mark of Allen Porter [Laughlin 1940, vol. II, pp. 109–10]
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
If you have questions about this work of art or the MFAH Online Collection please contact us.
Roswell Gleason & Sons
c. 1857
Silverplate over Britannia metal, electro-plated ncikel-silver and cut glass
84.177.1-.7
