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Teapot (from a six-piece tea service)
Phillip Garrett (about 1780–1851)
about 1813
Object Place: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Medium/Technique
Silver
Dimensions
20 x 22.3 x 12 cm (7 7/8 x 8 3/4 x 4 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Anonymous gift in honor of Eugenia Cassatt Madeira
Accession Number1982.360
CollectionsAmericas
ClassificationsSilver hollowware
This assembled tea set is a fine representation of early-nineteenth-century Philadelphia silver by Philip Garrett, the partnership of Robert and William Wilson, and possibly an unidentified maker. It has gained added attention due to its association with the family of Mary Stevenson Cassatt, the famous American artist. Initially made for the artist’s grandmother, and presumably added to by her mother, the tea set became a treasured family heirloom. Two of the objects — the sugar bowl and a teapot — appear in The Tea, painted about 1879 – 80 and now in the Museum’s collection (fig. 5), as well as in works on paper by the artist.
This text has been adapted from "Silver of the Americas, 1600-2000," edited by Jeannine Falino and Gerald W.R. Ward, published in 2008 by the MFA. Complete references can be found in that publication.
This text has been adapted from "Silver of the Americas, 1600-2000," edited by Jeannine Falino and Gerald W.R. Ward, published in 2008 by the MFA. Complete references can be found in that publication.
DescriptionThis is a raised vessel, rectangular in section. It has a rounded rectangular base with a stamped base molding with one step rising to stamped gadrooned neck and bulbous rectangular bowl. A molding surrounds the vessel, to which the upper handle section is attached. The body rises upward to a rectangular lid with a squared top, cut-card applied decoration, and finial. The lid has a five-part hinge; the seamed handle is rectangular in section and fitted with pinned ivory insulators. The spout terminates in a chased eagle’s head; strainer holes are within.
Handle is loose, pins not secure
Handle is loose, pins not secure
Marks
Marked "P.GARRETT" in roman letters within a rectangle twice on bottom of vessel.
InscriptionsEngraved "MS / 1813 / KKC" on side of body to right of handle.
ProvenanceAbout 1813, Mary Stevenson Johnston (b. 1792 – d. 1820), Pittsburgh [see note 1]; to her daughter, Katharine Kelso Johnston Cassatt (b. 1816 – d. 1895), Pittsburgh [see note 2]; to her daughter, Mary Stevenson Cassatt (b. 1844 – d. 1926), Paris; until 1982, by descent within the family; 1982, anonymous gift to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 9, 1982)
NOTES:
[1] The teapot, creamer, and sugar bowl in the present set, marked by Philip Garrett of Philadelphia, were owned by Mary Stevenson and marked with her initials around the time of her marriage to Alexander Johnston (“MS 1813”). [2] Katharine Kelso Johnston had her own initials engraved, and added to the original set three later pieces—two teapots and a waste bowl—around the time of her marriage to Robert Simpson Cassatt in 1835.
NOTES:
[1] The teapot, creamer, and sugar bowl in the present set, marked by Philip Garrett of Philadelphia, were owned by Mary Stevenson and marked with her initials around the time of her marriage to Alexander Johnston (“MS 1813”). [2] Katharine Kelso Johnston had her own initials engraved, and added to the original set three later pieces—two teapots and a waste bowl—around the time of her marriage to Robert Simpson Cassatt in 1835.