Teapot

Manufacturer Fletcher & Gardiner

CultureAmerican

Date1815-22

MediumSilver | Rosewood

DimensionsOverall: 9 3/4 x 11 1/4 x 6 1/4 in. (24.8 x 28.6 x 15.9 cm)

InscribedStruck on bottom: "FLETCHER & GARDINER" in a circle with "PHILA" in the center of the circle.

Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.

Object number77.540

Not on view

DescriptionInverted pear-shaped tea pot with a band of applied shell and leafage at its broadest point. The spout also has a large leaf applied at its underside and a leaf at its top. There is a band of flowers and leaves where the body joins the applied round base which is stepped and decorated with a bead variant as is the mouth of the main body. The hinged lid is done in a repousse design of leaves and is surmounted by a basket-shaped finial. The wood handle is carved with a leaf and joins the body with leaf-shaped sockets.

Label TextFletcher & Gardiner American, Philadelphia (active 1811-27) Teapot, ca. 1815-22 Silver with rosewood handle Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 77.540 As tea became more widely available and therefore cheaper, not only were more people able to afford tea, but some were able to use it in greater quantities. Teapots, in turn, became larger. Exhibition HistoryTREASURES FOR THE TABLE: SILVER FROM THE CHRYSLER MUSEUM. SILVER FROM THE CHRYSLER MUSEUM, The Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, VA, Decorative Arts Gallery, September 16, 1993-February 11, 1994 "Reopening of the Joan P. Brock Galleries," Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk, Va., Opening in March of 2008. Published ReferencesDavid Revere McFadden and Mark A. Clark, TREASURES FOR THE TABLE: SILVER FROM THE CHRYSLER MUSEUM, (Hudson Hills Press: New York, 1989), p. 96-97, no. 56 for illus. and information.