Coffeepot

Alois Simpert Eschenlohr

1823–24 · Silver, ebony, ivory, macassar ivory · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Early in the nineteenth century it became the custom to produce pots for coffee and hot milk en suite, and this piece was acquired together with its matching, smaller milk pot (1996.436.2a, b). Eschenlohr, who became a master silversmith in 1824, has taken a simple Neoclassical form and enlivened it with a playful contrast of surface effects, decorative details, and materials. A cherub's head emerges from a cluster of grapes beneath the spout, the cover is topped by a trio of ivory acorns, and the dark smoothness of the handle complements the light-catching fluting of the body. Few works are known by Eschenlohr, who shows himself here to be a masterful and witty designer.

Artist

Alois Simpert Eschenlohr

Date

1823–24

Medium

Silver, ebony, ivory, macassar ivory

Culture

German, Augsburg

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Gift of Wolfram Koeppe, in memory of Walter E. Stait, 1996