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Hot Water Urn

Decorative Arts and Design

Long assumed to be the work of an American workshop, this silver urn bears a mark, “SS,” that is now known to be that of Sun Shing, a Chinese silversmith who worked in the port city of Guangzhou (formerly known as Canton). Sun Shing made pieces for European and American consumers in the clean-lined, Georgian style practiced by Paul Revere and his contemporaries. Later in the nineteenth century, Sun Shing’s workshop would adapt to changing Western tastes, making heavier, more elaborately decorated pieces and adding more “Chinese-looking” motifs such as dragons and pagodas.
CULTURE American
MEDIUM Silver, bone or ivory, pigment
DATES 1800
DIMENSIONS Lid and body together: 18 3/4 × 10 1/2 × 8 1/2 in. (47.6 × 26.7 × 21.6 cm) Lid only: 6 × 4 1/2 in. (15.2 × 11.4 cm) Body only: 15 1/8 × 10 1/2 × 8 1/2 in. (38.4 × 26.7 × 21.6 cm)  (show scale)
MARKINGS S S in rectangle. (refers to maker Sun Sing, from Canton, China)
ACCESSION NUMBER 33.244
CREDIT LINE George C. Brackett Fund
MUSEUM LOCATION This item is not on view
CAPTION American. Hot Water Urn, 1800. Silver, bone or ivory, pigment, Lid and body together: 18 3/4 × 10 1/2 × 8 1/2 in. (47.6 × 26.7 × 21.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, George C. Brackett Fund, 33.244. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 33.244_threequarter_PS11.jpg)
IMAGE threequarter, 33.244_threequarter_PS11.jpg. Brooklyn Museum photograph, 2016
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RIGHTS STATEMENT Creative Commons-BY
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American. <em>Hot Water Urn</em>, 1800. Silver, bone or ivory, pigment, Lid and body together: 18 3/4 × 10 1/2 × 8 1/2 in. (47.6 × 26.7 × 21.6 cm). Brooklyn Museum, George C. Brackett Fund, 33.244. Creative Commons-BY (Photo: Brooklyn Museum, 33.244_threequarter_PS11.jpg)