Teapot 1745-1755

By the mid-eighteenth century, American silversmiths were making teapots in this stylized apple shape with inset cover and cast curvilinear spout. This handsome example, marked by the Charlestown, Massachusetts, silversmith Josiah Austin, is engraved with the coat of arms and crest of the Ware family. The arms are surrounded by a lively Rococo cartouche of scrolls, shells, and foliage. The engraving around the shoulder, however, is more contained and symmetrical, with alternating shells, diaperwork, and oval reserves typical of a slightly earlier date.