Teapot

Inscriptions

Marked on bottom: HURD [in rectangle]; scratched on bottom: 15 2 0; engraved shell, scroll and foliate cartouche on either side, with fayerweather arms (without tinctures) inside on pourer's side, and inscription on other, in script: The Gift / OF / Edwd [d superscript] Tyng Esqr [r superscript] / to / HFayerweather / Decr [r superscript] 9 / 1745

Label

The small size of this piece is typical of teapots from this early period—a reflection of the fact that tea was both scarce and expensive, and therefore brewed only in small quantities. This teapot is noteworthy for bearing the first documented Rococo decoration in Boston silver. In contrast to its simple globular shape, its asymmetrical engraving points to the more curvilinear aesthetics associated with the Rococo manner. The vessel’s inscription tells us that it was given by Edward Tyng Esquire to Hannah Fayerweather on December 9, 1745, the day before her wedding to Farr Tollman, a Boston bookbinder.

From the 2019 exhibition American Art, Colonial to Modern, curated by Barbara J. MacAdam, Jonathan L. Cohen Curator of American Art

This Queen-Anne style teapot, crafted by Jacob Hurd, represents a significant piece of American Colonial silverware. Made from silver and adorned with engraved shell, scroll, and foliate cartouches, it bears the arms of the Boston Fayerweather family. The asymmetrical Rococo-style engraving demonstrates the transition from the simple globular shape to the more ornate aesthetics of the Rococo period. This teapot’s small size reflects the scarcity and value of tea imported from China during that time, which was only brewed in small quantities. The American Colonial style of this pot, coupled with the context of the reliance on China’s trade for its utility, is representative of the popularity of foreign goods curated for the European palette.

Written by Miel Wewerka, ’26

From the 2023 exhibition Faith and Empire: The Legacy of Conversion and Commerce in the Early Modern World, curated by students of ARTH 20.04, "Faith and Empire: Art in the Early Modern World" taught by Elizabeth Rice Mattison, Andrew W. Mellon Associate Curator of Academic Programming

Course History

HIST 9.1, Empires and Colonies in North America, Paul Musselwhite, Fall 2014

HIST 9.01, America: From Invasion to Independence, Paul Musselwhite, Fall 2019

HIST 5.14, Americas: Invasion to Independence, Paul Musselwhite and Ernesto Mercadeo-Montero, Fall 2022

Art History 20.04, Faith and Empire, Beth Mattison, Spring 2023

Exhibition History

American Art at Dartmouth: Highlights from the Hood Museum of Art, William B. Jaffe and Evelyn A. Jaffe Hall Galleries, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, June 9-December 9, 2007.

American Art, Colonial to Modern, Israel Sack Gallery and Rush Family Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 26, 2019-September 12, 2021.

American Decorative Art at Dartmouth, Dartmouth College Museum and Galleries, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 10-March 1, 1981, no. 11.

American Silver, Barrows Print Room, Hopkins Center Art Galleries, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, September 27-November 3, 1974.

Colonial Days, Brick Store Museum, Kennebunkport, Maine, July 30-August 3, 1963.

Ellis Memorial Antiques Show, Paul Revere Life Insurance Company's Paul Revere Collection, Worcester, Massachusetts, October 30-November 4, 1961.

Exhibition of Colonial Silversmiths, Masters and Apprentices, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts, 1956.

Faith and Empire: The Legacy of Conversion and Commerce in the Early Modern World, Class of 1967 Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, August 12-December 23, 2023.

Harrington Silver Case, Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 26-April 30, 1976.

Harrington Silver Case, Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, July 28, 1981-June 1, 1982.

Harrington Silver Case, Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, June 1-30, 1964.

Harrington Silver Case, Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, October 11, 1978-January 5, 1979.

Harrington Silver Case, Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, October 15, 1976-January 28, 1977.

Harrington Silver Case, Hopkins Center, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, September 12, 1977.

Israel Sack Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, January 22, 1991-June 22, 1997.

Israel Sack Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, March 2, 2009-present.

Israel Sack Gallery, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, September 16, 1997-May 8, 2007.

Massachusetts Silver of the Colonial Period, Strauss Gallery, Hopkins Center Art Galleries, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, June 1972.

New England Silver at Dartmouth College: A Tribute to Frank L. Harrington, Class of 1924, Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, June 3-August 20, 1989, no. 50.

Publication History

Morrison H. Heckscher and Leslie Greene Bowman, American Rococo, 1750-1775: Elegance in Ornament, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art (Distributed by Harry N. Abrams, Inc.), 1992, ill. p. 84

Barbara J. MacAdam, New England Silver at Dartmouth College: A Tribute to Frank L. Harrington, Class of 1924, Hanover, New Hampshire: Trustees of Dartmouth College, 1989, no. 50.

Shelby Grantham, Rich and Tasty Cabinetwork, Dartmouth Alumni Magazine, Hanover, New Hampshire: Trustees of Dartmouth College, March 1981, p. 31.

Margaret J. Moody, American Decorative Arts at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire: Trustees of Dartmouth College, 1981, p. 11, no. 11.

Kathryn C. Buhler, Massachusetts Silver in the Frank L. and Louise C. Harrington Collection, Worcester, Massachusetts: Barre Publishers, 1965, p. 57-60, ill. p. 58 & 59.

Kathryn C. Buhler, Colonial Silversmiths, Masters and Apprentices, Boston, Massachusetts: Museum of Fine Arts, 1956, no. 95, ill. no. 50.

Patricia E. Kane, Colonial Massachusetts Silversmiths and Jewlers, Hanover: University Press of New England, p. 578-611, 1998.

Barbara J. MacAdam, American Art at Dartmouth: Highlights from the Hood Muesum of Art, Hanover: Trustees of Dartmouth College, 2007, p. 187, no. 156.

Provenance

Hannah Fayerweather, Hannah Mason (her niece), Thaddeus William Harris (her nephew), Emma Forbes Harris (his daughter), Elizabeth Harris ( her sister), Bertha Hamilton Clark (her niece)-from notes of Bertha H. Clark; Mr. and Mrs. Lewis H. Clark; Frank L. Harrington, Sr. (1902-1988) and Louise Cronin Harrington (1904-2000), Worcester, Massachusetts, 1959; given to present collection, 1967.

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