Cream Pot (from a 3-piece service)

Dateca.1790-1795

Maker Garrett Schanck 1768 - 1795

MediumSilver

DimensionsHeight: 6 3/4"; Maximum width: 5"; Base: 2 9/16" square

Credit LineBequest of Joseph H. and June S. Hennage

Object number2020-279,3

DescriptionTall, helmet-shaped cream pot of round to oval section connected to a square base by the stepped circular foot of its narrow neck. Fluted, tapering handle and high, curving spout. Both ends of the neck are edged with beaded bands, as is the rim and spout.Label TextEpitomizing the American neoclassical tea service, this set masterfully combines finely detailed ornamentation with broad expanses of smooth, polished metal. It is the work of Garrett Schanck, who died when he was only twenty-seven years old. Schenck had been apprenticed to Daniel Van Voorhis in 1784, and was working as his partner by 1791, the same year he married. Garrett's younger brother John, who was to become a noted silversmith, administered the estate along with Sarah, his widow. The 1795 estate inventory listed "5 pineapples" valued at 5 shillings each, certainly representing finials like those seen on this set's teapot and sugar bowl.Inscription(s)Front of the body engraved with swag-draped crested shields, highlighted by bright-cuts and rows of doted lines. The initials "GP" in sprigged script appear within the shield.Mark(s)Struck on one side of the base with "G.SCHANCK" in relief within a rectangle. To either side of Schanck's mark is an "m" in relief within a shield, and a spread eagle in relief within an oval.