Chocolate pot

In 1697 Samuel Sewall visited William Stoughton, lieutenant governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. Sewall observed that they had "breakfast together on Venison and Chockalatte," and that "Massachusetts and Mexico met at his Honour's Table." A few years later, Stoughton left twelve pounds in his will to his niece, Sarah Byfield Tailer, with the stipulation that she acquire a piece of silver as a "particular remembrance" of him. Stoughton died in 1701, and Mrs. Tailer apparently commissioned Coney to make this chocolate pot-the earliest American example known-in fulfillment of his bequest.

Boston diarist Samuel Sewall visited William Stoughton, lieutenant governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, one morning in October 1697. They had "breakfast together on Venison and Chockalatte," and Sewall observed that "Massachusetts and Mexico met at his Honour's Table." A few years later, Stoughton left twelve pounds in his will to his niece, Mrs. Sarah Byfield Tailer, with the stipulation that she acquire a piece of silver as a "particular remembrance" of him. Stoughton died in 1701, and Mrs. Tailer apparently commissioned John Coney to make this chocolate pot-the earliest American example known-in fulfillment of his bequest. Graceful in form, and stylish even by London standards of the time, Coney's work is a fitting demonstration of the ability of the silversmith to create enduring, functional works of art that delight the eye while also serving to perpetuate the memory, in tangible form, of family members.In colonial North America, silver chocolate pots were a rare, sophisticated form used for what was then a new and exotic beverage produced from cacao beans grown in Central and South America. Most surviving examples were made in Boston, although some were also produced in New York. At least eight Boston examples, including this one, have survived.This text was adapted from Ward, et al., MFA Highlights: American Decorative Arts & Sculpture (Boston, 2006) available at www.mfashop.com/mfa-publications.html.