Creampot
Samuel Casey
(American, about 1724–about 1773)
1750–60
Object PlaceExeter, Rhode Island, United States
Medium/TechniqueSilver
DimensionsOverall: 10.16 cm (4 in.)
Credit LineMuseum purchase with funds donated by Mrs. Charles Gaston Smith's Group
Accession number39.765
On View
On viewClassificationsSilver hollowware
Collections
This creampot, with its elaborate and detailed decoration, is a major piece of American Rococo silver. The cast, claw-and-ball feet and cabriole legs are unusual in colonial silver and reflect their popularity in contemporary furniture. The bulbous body is ornamented with a chased (punched out from within) design of foliate scrolls, which are echoed in the shape of the handle and the outline of the rim. IC, the initials of the original owner, is a cipher monogram derived from an English design book by Samuel Sympson.
ProvenanceBy 1939, Miss S. Agnes Donham, Boston; 1939, sold by Donham to the MFA for $500. (Accession Date: November 9, 1939)