1883 Gorham Antique Coffee Pot Teapot American Mixed Metals Exotic Aesthetic

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1883 Gorham Antique Coffee Pot Teapot American Mixed Metals Exotic Aesthetic:
$1062.46

1883GorhamMixed Metal Coffee PotExcellent condition 1883 Coffee Pot from Gorham. Copper and other mixed metals with ivory insulators, silver pins and silver trim. Style is of the Aesthetic movement inspired by exotic Turkish and Persian coffee pots with its elegant long neck.The surface of the pot is patinated and hammered to create a rich wine-red color and at the base of the neck is an applied die-rolled silver bank with sunflowers inrelief. The rim and lid are mounted in silver with a silver hinge and the interior of the pot is tinned.Gorham\'s copper line was introduced in 1881 and produced for only a few years until 1885 so this copper coffee pot incredibly rare. Date coded for 1883 and Providence, RI on the bottom of the pot - see the close up photo (anchor symbol indicating Rhode Island, P is the date code for 1882).The British Museum currently has the exact same coffee pot from 1882. Some fascinating history and detail about the pot here:\"Gorham\'s copper line was introduced in 1881 and was produced for a few years only, until about 1885. Production was small owing to the amount of hand laborinvolved. The taste for coloredmetals in the Japanese manner was developed to a far greater extent in America than in Europe, and became almost a hallmark of American metalwork of the Aesthetic Movement. The coloredmetals were either inlaid and applied (see Tiffany & Co., \'Decorative Arts 1850-1950\', Cat. 283) or patinated, as in this instance. The patinated wares, with their rich red tones, are probably inspired by Japanese lacquered wood rather than metal wares. The tall coffee-pot with its graceful spout was a favoriteGorham form, based on contemporary Turkish or Persian models. It was also made in plain copper, without the silver appliques, and in solid silver. The Jewelers\' Circular and Horological Review for January 1882 printed a lengthy description of the new copper wares, including \'a pot for black after-dinner coffee of silver in purest Persian shape\' (quoted in Carpenter, C.H. Jr., \'Gorham Silver 1831-1981\', New York 1982, 113). The American metalwork shown at the Exposition des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1884 included a teapot \'en cuivre auquel on donne par un oxyde une patine rouge vernie tres etrange\' (La Revue des Arts Decoratifs 4, 1884, 117). The makers are not specified, but it is likely that this refers to a Gorham piece.According to Carpenter the processes used to obtain the coloredsurfaces are not known, but there were a number of standard procedures, such as heating the copper to produce a thin film of red-to-brown copper oxide or cuprite (Cu20). The surface was then polished, and waxed or lacquered for protection. A similar process was described in a manual on the chemical colouring of metals published in England in 1925 ; the colour had the trade name \'Royal Copper\'. After the heat treatment to produce the film of cuprite, the article was polished with soft felt and a paste of rouge powder and methylated spirits, to achieve an \'excellent enamel lustre surface\' (Field, S. & Bonney, S.R., \'The Chemical Coloring of Metals\', London 1925, 150). With heat treatment alone it was difficult to obtain an even colorover the whole article. As an alternative a number of coloringsolutions were used, in conjunction with heat treatment. Most of the standard recipes were for shades of brown; recipes for red copper include immersion in a hot solution of copper sulphate and sodium chloride (Field & Bonney, 149-50), or of ammonium sulphide (Herbert Maryon, \'Metalwork and Enamelling\', London 1954, 261), or immersion in molten sodium nitrate for five minutes to ensure an even red oxide film (Fishlock, D., \'\'Metal Colouring\', Teddington 1962, 196). The colortones could be varied by varying the length of time or temperature of the treatment.
Surface analysis by X-ray fluorescence of the British Museum coffee-pot (by Susan La Niece of the British Museum Research Laboratory) has detected only copper with a trace of iron. However, the red patina is almost certainly cuprite, by analogy with that of the candlesticks (see \'Decorative Arts 1850-1950\', Cat. 116), where it was possible to take a small sample. It is thus likely that the colour was achieved by heat treatment alone as described above, but no evidence for the patination process was found, on either the coffee-pot or the candlesticks.
A version of this coffee-pot with more elaborate appliques is currently on loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York and corresponds more closely to the description in the Jewelers\' Circular. For other patinated copper pieces by Gorham, see Carpenter 1982 and Christie\'s, New York, 19-20 January 1990, lots 58-9, a lamp and a tea-caddy. Similar patinated copper wares were also made by Tiffany & Co.: for a red-coloredchocolate pot with silver appliques, see New York 1986, 267, fig. 8.13 and 264, fig. 8.14. For further discussion of American metalwork of the Aesthetic Movement, see New York 1986.
It is interesting to note that Japanese-style red-coloredwares in silver-gilt and red lacquer were made from c.1880 to 1917 by the Moscow firm of Ovchinnikov (see Solodkoff, A. von, \'Russian Silver\', Fribourg 1981, pl. 75 ; Sotheby\'s, New York, 15-17 November 1988, lot 38 and 15 December 1988, lot 347). See also Ovchinnikov, \'Decorative Arts catalogue 1850-1950\', Cat. 230.\"
Please zoom in on the photos to see the full detail of the pot - there is a small dent and some other signs of age and wear - as to be expected from any antique.Measures 12.75 inches tall.
Thanks forlooking and feel free to ask any questions! I can also supply more photos ifyou wish.

Buyer pays shipping. I will ship the coffeepot once I receivepayment. Payment must be made within 72 hours of sale close. Now offering a14 Day return policy. Returns will be accepted within 14 days after you receivethe item, otherwise they will not be accepted. Upon receipt of the item areturn will be granted. Buyer pays return shipping and a 10% restocking fee.