Cupid and Venus Appliqué
ca. 1810–30
Medium
Cast brass, lacquer
Dimensions
2 7/16 x 2 1/4 in. (6.2 x 5.7 cm)
Classification
Appliqué
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Edward Hunting Smith, 1968
Accession Number
Inst.68.8.75
Tags
Art Historical Context
Nestled in The American Wing of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, *Cupid and Venus Appl* by Henry Kellam Hancock (. 1810–30) is a delicate masterpiece of early American metalwork. Crafted from cast brass and finished with lacquer, this petite ornament measures just 2 7/16 x 2 1/4 inches, perfect for adorning furniture or architectural elements. Hancock, a skilled Massachusetts artisan, exemplifies the Federal period's embrace of neoclassical motifs, drawing from ancient Roman mythology to evoke love and beauty through the tender embrace of Venus and her son Cupid. The appliqué's cast brass tech...
About the Artist
Henry Kellam Hancock · 1816–1851
Henry Kellam Hancock (1788–1854) was a prominent American cabinetmaker based in Boston, Massachusetts, where he contributed significantly to the city's early nineteenth-century furniture trade. Son of Captain Belcher Hancock and Ann "Nancy" Susan Ackers, he entered the profession as a chairmaker around 1816 and transitioned to cabinetmaking by 1826, maintaining workshops on Orange Street from abou...