Physical Qualities
Silver, wood, 13 7/8 x 5 3/8 x 11 1/4 in. (35.2 x 13.7 x 28.6 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Miriam Gilman Todd and Charlotte Abbott Gilman Paul in Memory of their Mother, Eliza Weyl Gilman
Object Number
1936.46
The mark “Ball & Heald” on the base of this urn-shaped classical revival coffee pot dates it precisely to 1811, when William Ball and J. S. Heald operated a brief partnership in Baltimore. The pot is inscribed, “To Mr. Baltis Branson, by the Baltimore Equitable Society and the Baltimore Fire Insurance Company in Testimony of their Gratitude for his Patriotic Exertions in rescuing the Property of his fellow Citizens from the Dangers of Fire. 1811.” Mr. Branson was a clearly civic-minded blacksmith. The highly motivated donors were two of Baltimore’s first fire insurance companies.
Jennifer Faulds Goldsborough, "Eighteenth and Nineteenth Century Maryland Silver in the Collection of The Baltimore Museum of Art." Baltimore: The Baltimore Museum of Art, 1975. p. 128, ill. p. 129.
Inscribed: Inscribed: To/Mr. Baltis Branson/by/The Baltimore Fire Insurance Company/in Testimony of their GRATITUDE/for his/PATRIOTIC EXERTIONS/in rescuing/the Property of his fellow Citizens/from the Dangers of/Fire/1811.
Markings: "BALL & HEALD" stamped on back of base
Maker
J. S. Heald
1810–1811
American, working Baltimore, 1811-1812 with William Ball
Meet J. S. Heald
On View at the BMA
