Urn with Cover, Figure on Spigot, Stand and Fuel Lamp
Brooklyn Museum photograph
Object Label
This ink-wash drawing by Henri is highly suggestive of the works of James McNeill Whistler and of the Japanese prints that inspired him. While teaching at the Women’s School of Design in Philadelphia in 1893, Henri served as host to the noted Japanese artist and lecturer Beisen Kubota, who gave a demonstration of quick-sketch brush-and-ink technique. For a brief period after meeting Kubota, John Sloan and Henri carried around a brush and bottle of ink to make on-the-spot sketches.
Caption
J. E. Caldwell & Co. (founded 1839). Urn with Cover, Figure on Spigot, Stand and Fuel Lamp, ca. 1875. Sterling silver, ivory, Overall height of unit: 20 13/16 in. (52.9 cm) (a) Urn: height 12 1/2 x diameter of base 5 1/2 in. (31.8 x 14 cm) (a-b) Urn with cover: height 15 3/4 x diam. of top 4 5/8 in. (40 x 11.7 cm) (b) Cover: height 3 13/16 x diam. 4 3/4 in. (9.7 x 12.1 cm) (c) Spigot Finial: height 2 1/4 in. (5.7 cm) (d) Stand: height 5 3/8 x diam. of top 5 1/2 in. (. Brooklyn Museum, H. Randolph Lever Fund, 75.164.1a-e. (Photo: Brooklyn Museum)
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Gallery
Not on view
Collection
Maker
Title
Urn with Cover, Figure on Spigot, Stand and Fuel Lamp
Date
ca. 1875
Medium
Sterling silver, ivory
Classification
Dimensions
Overall height of unit: 20 13/16 in. (52.9 cm) (a) Urn: height 12 1/2 x diameter of base 5 1/2 in. (31.8 x 14 cm) (a-b) Urn with cover: height 15 3/4 x diam. of top 4 5/8 in. (40 x 11.7 cm) (b) Cover: height 3 13/16 x diam. 4 3/4 in. (9.7 x 12.1 cm) (c) Spigot Finial: height 2 1/4 in. (5.7 cm) (d) Stand: height 5 3/8 x diam. of top 5 1/2 in. (
Signatures
nno signature
Inscriptions
Engraved on side of urn within lozenge framed by palmettes: "M.A.C."
Markings
(1) On bottom of urn stamped in oval: "J.E.CALDWELL & Co. / ENGLISH STERLING" with "PHILADELPHIA / 197" (2) Small hieroglyph under masks on handles: standing bird inside an oval
Credit Line
H. Randolph Lever Fund
Accession Number
75.164.1a-e
Frequent Art Questions
Who was J.E. Caldwell?
James Emmot Caldwell (1813 - 1881) was an American designer and master silversmith. He was born and educated in New York, but later moved to Philadelphia where, in 1839, he founded the firm J.E. Caldwell and Co. The company exhibited their designs at the 1878 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia.Please explain the iconography on this urn.
The first big waves of interest in Egyptian art and culture in the West can be traced back to Napoleon's Egyptian campaign. This urn comes from the latter half of the 19th century, when the opera Aida, set in the Old Kingdom, inspired many New York designers. It also includes many classical motifs and is a part of the broader taste for eclecticism in the 19th century.
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