Coffeepot

Unknown

ca. 1740 · Silver, wood · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Coffee was first brought to Europe from Arabia. The Viennese claim that they looted sacks of coffee beans after the Ottomans withdrew following a failed siege in 1683. It was an Armenian merchant, possibly born in Istanbul, who founded Austria’s first coffeehouse in 1685. Precious silverware was the perfect medium to serve this exotic beverage to fashionable and affluent patrons. The maker’s knowledge of contemporary Italianate Baroque architecture is clearly visible in the coffeepot’s shape: the body rests like a palace tower on an oval stand. The bold curved spout is closed with a hinged cover to keep the contents warm.

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1740

Medium

Silver, wood

Culture

Hungarian, Érsekújvár

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Gift of The Salgo Trust for Education, New York, in memory of Nicolas M. Salgo, 2010