: The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has acquired a five-piece
silver hollowware service, thanks to generous funding by the
Friends of Colonial Williamsburg Collections donor group. Four of
the objects (teapot, sugar basin, cream jug and footed bowl) were
made by Norfolk silversmith Jeremiah Andrews, circa 1800, while
the fifth, an urn-shaped coffeepot, was made and marked by New
York silversmith John A. Schanck but also is marked by Andrews,
who retailed the piece.
"We have been most fortunate to acquire this handsome tea and
coffee service with a history of ownership in eastern Virginia,"
said John Davis, Colonial Williamsburg's Samuel and Pauline Clark
Curator, and senior curator of metals. "The four pieces that were
crafted in Norfolk are all engraved by the same hand with the
ornamented cipher 'JES' for the original owners Captain John
Stone [d. 1821] and his wife Elizabeth Keeling [1777-1843],
residents of Norfolk who were married September 26, 1799. Members
of Virginia's Gatewood family, descendants of the original owners
who last owned this service, have been extremely helpful in
establishing its history."
The acquisition is an important one for Colonial Williamsburg
because it represents a substantive expansion of the foundation's
regional silver collection. "This Norfolk silver is tremendously
significant to us because of the combination of the objects'
early date and the fact that so many pieces of the service
survive together," said Ronald L. Hurst, Colonial Williamsburg's
Carlisle H. Humelsine Curator, and vice president of collections
and museums. "The well-documented history of ownership is an
added bonus. This acquisition dramatically enhances the Colonial
Williamsburg Foundation's collection of Virginia silver."
To return the Norfolk silver service to its original appearance,
Colonial Williamsburg's conservation team made modest repairs.
David Blanchfield, conservator of objects and metals, repaired
and rebuilt the wooden handles on the coffeepot and teapot.
Master silversmith George Cloyed removed a sizable dent from the
footed waste bowl. Carl West, metals technician, cleaned the
silver then coated it to retard tarnishing.
For information, 800-HISTORY or www.Colonial
Williamsburg.com.
