Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object Name |
Teapot |
Date |
1870-1895 |
Description |
Majolica teapot with lid. White earthenware with translucent glazes; round body with loop handle and straight spout. Lid has loop finial. Upper body is aqua colored with pink flowered branches and brown birds in molded relief; lower body is yellow with pineapple texture. Spout, handle, and finial are brown and textured to resemble basketry. Attributed to Griffen, Smith & Hill, Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. Part of a tea service (catalog numbers F07.2576.1-9). Teapot measures 5.75 inches high. |
Acquisition |
Gift of Mrs. Edward G. Ames |
Ownership and History |
This teapot is made of majolica, a coarse but colorful type of ceramic ware that typically incorporated molded designs. It is part of a tea set for two, sometimes called a tete a tete, which would be used for intimate occasions. This set was given to the Staten Island Historical Society by Mrs. Edward G. Ames. A photograph shows her mother, Charlotte (Seguine) Smith (born in 1884), as a girl posing in a bedroom with this tea set; the image is part of an advertisement for an invalid table. Charlotte was the daughter of Ezra Kennedy Smith and his wife Emma, who lived in Jersey City, New Jersey. The tea set is attributed to the Pennsylvania works called The Phoenix Pottery (later Griffen, Smith & Hill). Its appearance relates to American interpretations of Japanese decorative arts. |
Earliest Date |
1870 |
Latest Date |
1895 |
Maker |
Griffen, Smith & Hill (attributed) |
Material |
Ceramic |
Subjects |
Food Pottery Tea Teapots Tableware |
Lexicon Sub-category |
Food Service T&E |
Associated People |
Smith, Charlotte (Seguine) |
Catalog Number |
F07.2576.1-2 |
Support Acknowledgment |
Online Collections Database record made possible by the Efron family in memory of Dr. Meryl Efron, November 2014. |
Legal Status |
Images and text in this database are copyrighted by the Staten Island Historical Society unless otherwise noted. Items represented here are from the collections of the Staten Island Historical Society. Materials reproduced for personal non-commercial use must credit the Staten Island Historical Society. Commercial licensing is available. |