Hot milk pot (?)
Unknown Artist
1768–69
Medium
Silver; ebony
Dimensions
Overall (with handle): 4 1/8 × 5 3/8 in. (10.5 × 13.7 cm)
Classification
Metalwork-Silver
Culture
French, Paris
Department
European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Catherine D. Wentworth, 1948
Accession Number
48.187.129
Art Historical Context
This delicate hot milk pot, crafted in Paris around 1768–69, exemplifies the refined silverwork of late 18th-century France. Made of shimmering silver with an ebony handle, it just over 4 inches tall and 5 inches wide, perfect for intimate servings at the breakfast table or during fashionable chocolate rituals. The "?" in its title reflects scholarly caution, as such vessels were versatile for heating milk or other warm beverages in affluent households. Parisian silversmiths were masters of the era, employing techniques like chasing and planishing to achieve elegant forms and a lustrous finis...