Hot Water Urn 1791

Hot-water urns joined the tea and coffee service in the years following the American Revolution. This monumental example, recorded by Paul Revere in his ledger on April 20, 1791, was made for Hannah Rowe (1725–1805) of Boston, whose initials are engraved on its front. With its attenuated body, high looped handles, and bright-cut engraving, this urn epitomizes the elegance and restraint  characteristic of Neoclassical styling. Popular throughout Europe in the latter eighteenth century, Neoclassicism easily took hold in the young American republic, where allusions to ancient Rome held special appeal.