Georgetown,DC Silver Coffee Pot Touch Mark of Charles A. Burnett (1769 – 1849) Georgetown, District of Columbia Circa 1820 Commentary: The extensive output of silver from the long career of Charles A. Burnett can best be dated by the style. This dramatic, 11” tall coffee pot is from the period spanning the late teens and about 1830 when Burnett made multiple piece tea and coffee services for the elite of the Federal City. As Catherine Hollan notes in her Virginia Silversmiths (which includes a comprehensive 13 page entry on this important artisan) Burnett silver is much more widely distributed than most of his contemporaries since much of it was purchased by Congressmen and Senators who carried it home when their careers ended. From his Georgetown shop near what is now the corner of Wisconsin and M Streets, Burnett cultivated business with the new national government and many of the leading political and social figures who populated the emerging capital. Among his recorded clients were Presidents Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, J. Q. Adams and Jackson. Burnett also produced gorgets and trade silver items such as arm bands and ear rings for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and received other significant government commissions during a career that spanned five decades. This coffee pot incorporates a number of elements found on other Burnett pieces including an animal head spout, a serpent or griffin handle, a broad flower and berry band on the shoulder and a small guilloche band on the rim. Hollan records several similar pieces from sets dating to the same period in private collections, at MESDA and in the collection of the Alexandria Lyceum among others. Burnett was born in Spotsylvania County, Virginia and served his apprenticeship with silversmith James Brown of Fredericksburg where the contract was filed in July of 1788. Burnett remained in Fredericksburg until at least 1793 and is thought to have worked in Alexandria at least briefly before forming a partnership in 1796 with John E. Rigden which was based in Georgetown. They advertised that they “constantly [kept] an assortment of silver…of their own manufacture” as well as providing services as jewelers and watchmakers. This business venture was terminated after ten years when Rigden relocated to Baltimore. Charles A. Burnett continued his successful career in Georgetown where he served as a Director and President of Union Bank and pursued a variety of investments. Examples of Burnett’s work are held by numerous institutions including, The Smithsonian, Yale University Art Gallery, the National Archives, the Department of State, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, The Mint Musuem, Gunston Hall, Tudor Place and the Wadsworth Atheneum. Condition: The coffee pot is in excellent condition with one small dent. There is minor loss to the handle insulator rings and old well executed repairs to the base and inside of the handle. It bears a period monogram “WCR” and a later monogram “GW” which was likely a reference to the erroneous belief that George Washington was a documented Burnett client. Price: sold
