On View
Slavery and Freedom Gallery
Exhibition
Slavery and Freedom
Manufactured by
Pontifex, Daniel, English, 1768 - 1826
Date
1800
Medium
sterling silver with wood and brass
Dimensions
H x W x D: 6 1/2 × 10 3/4 × 5 in. (16.5 × 27.3 × 12.7 cm)
Caption
This silver teapot represents the deadly plantation economy in the New World that satisfied the international demand for sugar, which became a staple in the English tea industry. It is also indicative of the financial success that sugar brought to prosperous slave owners, financiers, slave traders, sugar merchants, and the lifestyle maintained by sugar consumers in the United States. Sugar, Britain’s largest import, was also the focus of one of the first anti-slavery boycotts after the abolition bill was rejected by British Parliament in 1791. The boycott attempted to put economic pressure on the slave-dependent industry of sugar, hastening the end of the trade.
Description
A George III sterling silver teapot by Daniel Pontifex, London. It has an oval shaped body with a large, curved black wood handle later attached with brass rivet. The hinged lid is domed with raised fluting around the crown of the dome, radiating outwards from the knob on top of the lid. The knob is oval and is made of wood, painted black. There is a small silver finial capping off the knob. The lid is hinged at one end and flips upwards towards the handle. The rim flares outwards slightly and is decorated with a raised repeating striated pattern. The teapot's shoulders flare outwards and form a small flat rim around the circumference. The spout is short and is square in shape. The upper body of the teapot is smooth while the lower half is decorated by fluting in sections. One side of the teapot has an image of a large bird, possibly a pelican, with a fish in its mouth, etched into the upper half. On the opposite side is an image of a lion rampant, with a scroll over its head. In the scroll is text that reads "Forward." The teapot has an oval foot with four points, one at each corner. Each point is formed from a crease in the metal that runs vertically up the body of the body of the teapot. There are several silversmith hallmarks on the base: the maker’s mark "DP", certification of silver quality, city production mark, date letter "E", and duty mark.
Place made
London, England
Classification
Decorative Arts, Craft, and Design
Type
teapots
Topic
British colonialism
Commerce
Cooking and dining
Design
Domestic life
Economics
Slave trade
Slavery
Sugarcane
Credit Line
Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
Object number
2020.32.5.1
Restrictions & Rights
No Known Copyright Restrictions
Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd5cd018f69-8c3f-4177-98ec-4e167b2ed546

Cataloging is an ongoing process and we may update this record as we conduct additional research and review. If you have more information about this object, please contact us at NMAAHCDigiTeam@si.edu

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