Coffeepot 1787 - 1790

Curator: Here we have a stunning Coffeepot, crafted between 1787 and 1790. The piece, currently residing here at The Met, is primarily silver with a wooden handle, showcasing decorative-art sensibilities. Editor: Ooh, shiny! My first thought? It's like something straight out of a Jane Austen novel. Perfectly proper, yet somehow just begging to spill a secret or two. Curator: Absolutely. These objects, especially among the wealthy, signified status and taste during the late 18th century. This was an era increasingly preoccupied with etiquette and the rituals surrounding beverages like coffee and tea. Editor: I can almost feel the heat radiating from it, can't you? It's not just about function, it's about theatre. Pouring coffee was probably a whole performance, right? A little stagecraft for every morning. Curator: Undoubtedly. Silverware like this was strategically deployed in the theater of domestic life. The gleaming surfaces, the height of the pot, all communicated affluence. Imagine the social signaling that even this singular vessel embodies. Editor: It also looks rather severe. Almost forbidding. A reminder that not everyone got a seat at that polished table. There's almost a slight melancholy about it for me. A reminder that refinement often obscures privilege. Curator: A crucial point. Consumption was tied to power structures and exclusivity. The resources to obtain the silver, the craftsperson skills in shaping it, it was not simply about enjoying a hot beverage. The initial engraving of ‘AMB’, would most likely reflect the person it belonged to. Editor: Right? Ownership etched right onto the surface! Though there is also a beauty to that possessiveness too, someone really cherished that thing! You do wonder, as time passes, who eventually wound up holding that wooden handle... Curator: Food and drink become expressions of social identity and even of political allegiance. They reflect the dynamic and unequal contexts in which objects like this circulated. Editor: So this coffeepot is more than just a vessel, it is also a little microcosm of its time. A quiet statement about who held the coffee and, more importantly, who did not. Fascinating! Curator: Precisely. Hopefully, viewing it within that framework, it brings new insights, sparking deeper thought, as you continue through our collections.