Durgin Sterling and Mixed Metal Tea Pot, Concord, NH, c. 1880

Sterling objects with mixed metal by Durgin are extremely rare, and this Japanese inspired design is a work of art. This tête-à-tête tea pot is an exceptional example from their shop. 

Featuring applied scenes of vines, berries, and animals,this beautiful tea pot has unique designs on each side. The leaves, with hand-chased details, bend and curl off of the surface giving them beautiful 3-dimensional realism. The berries are beautiful copper, and the vines emanate from mounds of copper sand.

There are lovely sterling appliqués of three birds and a butterfly - all in flight. These stunning decorations are all against a body of honeycomb hammering with a matte surface. The lovely handle is wrapped in its original rattan and is in excellent condition.

Tea pots in this form are extremely rare in American silver - in fact, some people claim they were never made without a kettle-style base.  Images in the Gorham Archives document this style of tête-à-tête tea pot was, very rarely, made here without any base.

This piece is the only example of Durgin's exceedingly rare mixed-metal aesthetic movement silver we have had to offer, and it is almost certainly unique. 

This rare antique tête-à-tête tea pot is marked underneath 'STERLING SILVER' along with the sterling standard '925/1000' and model number '10'. It is also stamped with Durgin's early mark of a bird within a wreath. It measures 6.25 inches across the body and spout by 5.5 inches high when the handle is raised. It weighs 13.55 troy ounces and is in exceptional antique condition.