A Unique Silver TeakettleAuthor(s): Marshall DavidsonSource: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Vol. 36, No. 1, Part 1 (Jan., 1941), pp. 8-10Published by: The Metropolitan Museum of ArtStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3256174 .

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BULLETIN OF THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART BULLETIN OF THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART

house2 there. The style recalls the engrav- ings in La Mesangere's book, especially the sofa (fig. 2), which resembles a "Grecian Squab" issued in 1813. The wood is cherry, painted to simulate rosewood; and, as a substitute for the gilt-bronze appliques in the French design, etched gold leaf gives shape to the decoration of small cornu- copiae, eagles, masks, swans, and scrolls. The hairy paw feet are colored to imitate antique bronze. Not many examples of decorated furniture retain untouched their

house2 there. The style recalls the engrav- ings in La Mesangere's book, especially the sofa (fig. 2), which resembles a "Grecian Squab" issued in 1813. The wood is cherry, painted to simulate rosewood; and, as a substitute for the gilt-bronze appliques in the French design, etched gold leaf gives shape to the decoration of small cornu- copiae, eagles, masks, swans, and scrolls. The hairy paw feet are colored to imitate antique bronze. Not many examples of decorated furniture retain untouched their

A UNIQUE SILVER TEAKETTLE

Samuel Pepys's diary entry for Septem- ber 25, 166o, that he "did send for a cup of tee (a China drink)" of which he "had never drunk before" is our literary introduction to the tea-drinking Englishman. During the preceding century travelers in the Far East had occasionally noted the use of tea as one of the bizarre features of oriental life, but it was not until some time after Pepys's novel experience that his countrymen developed a

A UNIQUE SILVER TEAKETTLE

Samuel Pepys's diary entry for Septem- ber 25, 166o, that he "did send for a cup of tee (a China drink)" of which he "had never drunk before" is our literary introduction to the tea-drinking Englishman. During the preceding century travelers in the Far East had occasionally noted the use of tea as one of the bizarre features of oriental life, but it was not until some time after Pepys's novel experience that his countrymen developed a

FIG. 2. PAINTED AND GILDED SOFA FROM THE WORKSHOP OF DUNCAN PHYFE

NEW YORK, EARLY XIX CENTURY

FIG. 2. PAINTED AND GILDED SOFA FROM THE WORKSHOP OF DUNCAN PHYFE

NEW YORK, EARLY XIX CENTURY

original painted ornament, and here the various designs are not only well preserved but reveal a masterly hand. The upholstery was originally plain black haircloth, and a small part of this remains upon the sofa; but most of the fabric is modern.

Maud Swords bequeathed last January a pair of mahogany side chairs that with slight variation in design are like New York chairs in The American Wing which were probably made in the workshop of Duncan Phyfe. The chairmaker seems to have fol- lowed an engraving dated 1818 from La Mesangere's book (either directly or in a secondary source) and has retained the effect of fragility that the original design suggests. He has combined structural sturdi- ness with this lightness, a test of skill which places his work well above the average.

JOSEPH DOWNS. 2 The former Christie house, built in 1821 and

purchased by Gill in 1833.

original painted ornament, and here the various designs are not only well preserved but reveal a masterly hand. The upholstery was originally plain black haircloth, and a small part of this remains upon the sofa; but most of the fabric is modern.

Maud Swords bequeathed last January a pair of mahogany side chairs that with slight variation in design are like New York chairs in The American Wing which were probably made in the workshop of Duncan Phyfe. The chairmaker seems to have fol- lowed an engraving dated 1818 from La Mesangere's book (either directly or in a secondary source) and has retained the effect of fragility that the original design suggests. He has combined structural sturdi- ness with this lightness, a test of skill which places his work well above the average.

JOSEPH DOWNS. 2 The former Christie house, built in 1821 and

purchased by Gill in 1833.

real thirst for the beverage. When society did take up the tea ritual, in the reigns of William and Mary and Anne, it took it up with enthusiasm, and a new terminology had to be evolved to designate the para- phernalia of the western form of the service. Special cups and spoons, tables, and stands became indispensable and with other articles were promptly remarked in print by Con- greve, Shadwell, Addison, and other men of letters and critics of their day.

"Tea kettle" made its debut in the Lon- don Ga?ette in 1705, although a few actual kettles survive which date from even earlier in the century. It was only a few years later that Cornelius Kierstede (1675-1757) of New York fashioned the earliest of the three silver kettles known to have been made in colonial America.1 Silver kettles of this early period are rare enough in any land, and the Museum is extremely fortu-

I Acc. no. 40. 145A,B. H. ioy4 in.

real thirst for the beverage. When society did take up the tea ritual, in the reigns of William and Mary and Anne, it took it up with enthusiasm, and a new terminology had to be evolved to designate the para- phernalia of the western form of the service. Special cups and spoons, tables, and stands became indispensable and with other articles were promptly remarked in print by Con- greve, Shadwell, Addison, and other men of letters and critics of their day.

"Tea kettle" made its debut in the Lon- don Ga?ette in 1705, although a few actual kettles survive which date from even earlier in the century. It was only a few years later that Cornelius Kierstede (1675-1757) of New York fashioned the earliest of the three silver kettles known to have been made in colonial America.1 Silver kettles of this early period are rare enough in any land, and the Museum is extremely fortu-

I Acc. no. 40. 145A,B. H. ioy4 in.

8 8

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BULLETIN OF THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART

nate to have received this only surviving American example. It comes to us as a bequest from James Stevenson Van Cort- landt. Miss Anne Stevenson Van Cortlandt, sister of the donor, retained a life interest in the piece but generously lent it to the Mu- seum for many years, so that it is an acqui- sition already well known to students and visitors to The American Wing.

Today it is rare to find such a vivid re- minder of those Low Country traditions which contributed so largely to the early development of New York. The city has had scant respect for them. It has lost prac- tically all its old buildings, even if suburbia is dotted with projecting, bell-cast eaves imitating our early Flemish-type architec- ture. Washington Irving's caricature of

rf"W

COLONIAL SILVER TEAKETTLE BY CORNELIUS

KIERSTEDE. NEW YORK, 1710-1720

Generally speaking, its design acknowl- edges models in the pear-shaped vessels, with boldly curved and turned handles and stepped lids, that were favored abroad at a contemporary date. More specifically, though, it is a forceful expression of regional style. No one but a New York silversmith of this period would have used a turned silver wire as a decorative detail about the neck of such a vessel; and, among the American colonies, probably only polyglot New York would have accepted the grotesque, but graceful spout, which is the feature of our kettle. Its design stems from the same lively appreciation of the fantastic that found out- let in the engravings and silverwork of the Van Vianens in Holland and in the sur- realist inventions of Hieronymus Bosch.

Knickerbocker society remains the main lit- erary impression; and only occasional words in the local vernacular such as "scow" and "spook," "boss" and "dope," pay modest tribute to Dutch influences.

But for all its dependence upon the con- ventions of the time and place the kettle is unique. From its cast, neatly modeled pine- apple finial to the ample curves of its out- lines, it reveals the imaginative and almost meticulous craftsmanship characteristic of Kierstede's silverwork. Special attention is evident even on the base, where the weight of the piece, "46 otinse,"2 is noted in care- fully engraved script and the tiny point necessary to fix the center when raising the

2 Without its cherry-wood handle grip the kettle at present weighs 45 oz. 10 dwt.

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BULLETIN OF THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART BULLETIN OF THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART

form from a flat sheet of metal is embel- lished with starlike rays.

To understand further the somewhat un- predictable originality as well as the caliber of Kierstede's work, it is helpful to consider a group of his other pieces, loans and Mu- seum possessions, displayed in neighboring cases in Galleries M 22, where the kettle is now shown, and M 23 on the top floor of The American Wing. These, a magnificent bowl3 and a set made up of two candlesticks and a snuffer stand, with our present acqui- sition constitute a small exhibition of dis- tinctive craftsmanship altogether note- worthy in the history of the early arts of America.

form from a flat sheet of metal is embel- lished with starlike rays.

To understand further the somewhat un- predictable originality as well as the caliber of Kierstede's work, it is helpful to consider a group of his other pieces, loans and Mu- seum possessions, displayed in neighboring cases in Galleries M 22, where the kettle is now shown, and M 23 on the top floor of The American Wing. These, a magnificent bowl3 and a set made up of two candlesticks and a snuffer stand, with our present acqui- sition constitute a small exhibition of dis- tinctive craftsmanship altogether note- worthy in the history of the early arts of America.

probably during the second decade of the eighteenth century, for the occasion of Eliza- beth's wedding to John Hamilton, some- time acting governor of the New Jersey colony.5 It entered the Van Cortlandt family when Anne, apparently, left it to her nephew Pierre Van Cortlandt, great-grandfather of the donor. The whereabouts of the chafing dish mentioned in Elizabeth's will is not known, although the kettle was doubtless designed to rest on this or a similar separate stand with its spirit lamp or charcoal tray. The rediscovery of this complement to our piece would be an event of great interest to those who cherish colonial silver.

MARSHALL DAVIDSON.

probably during the second decade of the eighteenth century, for the occasion of Eliza- beth's wedding to John Hamilton, some- time acting governor of the New Jersey colony.5 It entered the Van Cortlandt family when Anne, apparently, left it to her nephew Pierre Van Cortlandt, great-grandfather of the donor. The whereabouts of the chafing dish mentioned in Elizabeth's will is not known, although the kettle was doubtless designed to rest on this or a similar separate stand with its spirit lamp or charcoal tray. The rediscovery of this complement to our piece would be an event of great interest to those who cherish colonial silver.

MARSHALL DAVIDSON.

FIG. I. IVORY FIGURE OF A HOUND, XVIII DYNASTY FIG. I. IVORY FIGURE OF A HOUND, XVIII DYNASTY

The handsome patronage which gave Kierstede opportunities to exercise his skill resulted in part, at least, from fortunate family relationships, for his pedigree is more or less closely linked with numerous promi- nent New York families. Our kettle is tra- ditionally supposed to have been com- missioned by Abraham de Peyster, whose handsome, sumptuously furnished dwelling on Smith's Valley Road (now Pearl Street) was a landmark of its day. But, in the in- ventory of his plate, amounting to over I 6oo ounces, no such vessel is recorded. The first document which can be associated with the piece is the will of his daughter Eliza- beth (proved in 1765), in which she left her "silver Tea Kettle, Chafing dish and two Silver Kanestors" to her sister Anne.4 It seems most likely that the kettle was made,

3 See BULLETIN, vol. XXXIII (1938), PP. 227 f. 4 Also known as Joanna and so baptized. Her

initials A n appear on the base of the kettle.

The handsome patronage which gave Kierstede opportunities to exercise his skill resulted in part, at least, from fortunate family relationships, for his pedigree is more or less closely linked with numerous promi- nent New York families. Our kettle is tra- ditionally supposed to have been com- missioned by Abraham de Peyster, whose handsome, sumptuously furnished dwelling on Smith's Valley Road (now Pearl Street) was a landmark of its day. But, in the in- ventory of his plate, amounting to over I 6oo ounces, no such vessel is recorded. The first document which can be associated with the piece is the will of his daughter Eliza- beth (proved in 1765), in which she left her "silver Tea Kettle, Chafing dish and two Silver Kanestors" to her sister Anne.4 It seems most likely that the kettle was made,

3 See BULLETIN, vol. XXXIII (1938), PP. 227 f. 4 Also known as Joanna and so baptized. Her

initials A n appear on the base of the kettle.

AN XVIII DYNASTY SALUKI HOUND

The temple and tomb are the source of so great a proportion of Egyptian works of art that we are sometimes inclined to look for a religious significance in everything which has come down to us from that civilization. There are, to be sure, large categories of objects found in tombs that are distinctly non-religious in character. Toilet articles and jewelry, for example, are things of everyday life, and yet certain types of these had in the earlier periods become fixed by tradition and had achieved a certain amu- letic quality. Specified oils in their jars and particular necklaces and bracelets came to be prescribed as provision for the dead. But jewelry and toilet articles are so personal in their nature that the old funerary customs

5 For suggestions concerning this possible pedi- gree the writer is indebted to John Marshall Phillips of Yale University.

AN XVIII DYNASTY SALUKI HOUND

The temple and tomb are the source of so great a proportion of Egyptian works of art that we are sometimes inclined to look for a religious significance in everything which has come down to us from that civilization. There are, to be sure, large categories of objects found in tombs that are distinctly non-religious in character. Toilet articles and jewelry, for example, are things of everyday life, and yet certain types of these had in the earlier periods become fixed by tradition and had achieved a certain amu- letic quality. Specified oils in their jars and particular necklaces and bracelets came to be prescribed as provision for the dead. But jewelry and toilet articles are so personal in their nature that the old funerary customs

5 For suggestions concerning this possible pedi- gree the writer is indebted to John Marshall Phillips of Yale University.

IO IO

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