Coffeepot

Date1750-1800

MediumCopper, wood, solder, spelter & iron

DimensionsOH: 9 Diameter of base: 6 3/16"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number2011-96

DescriptionCoffeepot with trumpet body, crooked spout and side-mounted socketed wooden handle. The flat, hinged lid has a cast baluster finial at its center.Label TextVery well worn but still attractive, this trumpet-bodied coffeepot has an elegant crooked spout, and is of a form that was very popular in England and America during the last half of the 18th century.

This otherwise unremarkable coffeepot has a history of use in late 18th and early 19th century Virginia. Its original owner was John Randolph of Roanoke (1773-1833), the famous early 19th c. politician who once served as President Thomas Jefferson's spokesman in the House of Representatives. Thus, it is highly significant as a documentable example of a piece of common copperware that was used in early Virginia.

In 1878, long after Randolph passed away, his heirs auctioned off many of his possessions. This coffeepot was purchased by S. J. Chandler, a Richmond, VA antiquary, who later sold it to Andrew Holmes Sherratt (of Chicago, IL) on November 28, 1896. From there, it passed through the hands of a number of Sherratt's descendants, until acquired by Colonial Williamsburg in 2011.

This unremarkable coffeepot has a history of use Roanoke Plantation, the Charlotte County, Virginia, estate of John Randolph, a famous politician who served as President Thomas Jefferson's spokesman in the House of Representatives. Utilitarian objects of this kind rarely survive with their history of ownership, but they were once common sights in households and taverns throughout the South.ProvenanceA. H. Sherratt collection, no. 105.