James II Antique Silver Chocolate Pot, London 1686.

Object Description

This is one of the earliest surviving English chocolate pots and has the rare early baluster form derived from Chinese porcelain. The wooden C-scroll side handle is mounted with applied silver strapwork and topped by a baluster finial. The pull off lid, shaped like the top of a ginger jar, is attached to the handle by a chain and the urn finial can be removed to insert a swizzle stick in order to stir the chocolate. Hand engraved around the base is a historical interest inscription and below the handle there are contemporary initials “ED” surrounded by mullets. A particularly charming feature is the pierced grill inside the spout which has sixteen inverted hearts.

Total weight 673g, 21.6 troy oz.
Height 19.1cm, 7.5ins.
London 1686.
Maker TEB.
Sterling silver.

The earliest chocolate pot recorded is one made by George Garthorne in 1685.

Marks. Stamped below with a full set of English silver hallmarks, the rim of cover with maker’s mark and lion passant. The maker’s mark “TEB in monogram” is listed in Jackson’s English Silver and Gold Marks (revised edition p. 129). While the base is fully marked for London 1686, there are traces of additional earlier marks from the Commonwealth period, indicating the baseplate was cut from an older, marked piece of silver.

No maker assigned

Free Shipping Worldwide

Object History

Symon Patrick, sometime Bishop of Ely, to his great-great-great granddaughter Emily Fosberry (1868), thence by descent.
Sold Sotheby’s, New York, 12 April 1995, lot 346
Charles L. Poor, Washington, D.C., sold
Sotheby’s, New York, 30 March 2011, sold USD25,000

Inscription. “That it may not be forgotten that this belonged to Symon Patrick, sometime Bishop of Ely. his Great-Great-Great Granddaughter Emily Fosbery caused these words to be engraved A.D. 1868.”

Simon Patrick (1626-177), bishop of Ely, was born in Lincolnshire, the son of a prosperous mercer and merchant. He attended Queen’s College, Cambridge, from 1655 he was chaplain to Sir Walter St. John at Battersea, and from about 1658 to 1675 he was vicar of St. Mary’s, Battersea. In 1662 he became rector of St. Paul’s, Covent Garden and held this wealthy living until 1689. He was considered an exemplary parish priest, particularly for staying with his parishioners during the plague of 1665. In 1671 he was made a royal chaplain “whether I would or no”, and in 1675 he married Penelope Jephson.

Patrick accepted the deanery of Peterborough in 1679 and was one of the defenders of Anglicanism at the court of James II. Under William and Mary he was named bishop of Chichester, then of Ely. Alongside his parochial duties, he improved “the material fortunes of the diocese,” reconstructed the bishop’s palace at Ely, and purchased an estate at Dalham in Suffolk for his family before his death in 1707 (Oxford DNB).

Object Literature

Chocolate is a derivative of cocoa beans which Christopher Columbus encountered on his fourth voyage to the Americas in 1502. It was first introduced to Europe in the early 16th century, its popularity spread and it became a luxury drink in Britain during the 17th century. The first chocolate house in London opened in 1657.

Coffee and chocolate were established as part of social life by the end of the century and coffee pots can be found from the 1680’s onwards. Initially, these tall form pots (as averse to the squatter teapot shape) were used for both coffee and chocolate however we term chocolate pots to be those with either a removable finial or removable lid for inserting a swizzle stick. We also nominate some early side handled pots as chocolate pots.

The form of the earliest and rarest chocolate pots, of which this is one, is inspired by oriental vase forms, particularly Chinese ginger jars. The pots have a detachable cover with a detachable finial to allow the chocolate to be stirred with a molinet.

Michael Clayton’s “The Collector’s Dictionary of the Silver and Gold of Great Britain and North America”, Woodbridge, 1971, p. 90, illustrates an example by R Williamson of Leeds circa 1695. Other examples of this very rare form include two made in Newcastle, one by Eli Bilton, 1694 (M. Holland, Old Country Silver, 1971, p. 77) and the other by William Ramsay, circa 1695 formerly in the Hahn collection (Christie’s New York, 25 October 2000, lot 279). A London made example, circa 1685, maker’s mark IW a tun below, was in the Howard and May Joynt collection (Christie’s New York, 19 April 1990, lot 244).

Object Condition

This pot is in very good condition and fully functional. Superb patina. There are a few small dinks as would be expected and signs of old repairs next to the spout. The wooden handle looks contemporary and has a few wear lines.

Object Details