Waxing Poetic in the White Stuff When the third Nor’easter in 10 days hit campus on January 12, Yuto Watanabe ’11 grabbed his boots and his cameras and raced into the whiteout. Dean of Students Paul Murphy ’84 put out an e-mail calling for snow haikus.
Ninja of the snow; Assassin with a snowball. Proceed with caution.* —Marcus Smith ’12
Shoveled path today Snowed back over by second Vague sense of despair
Oh dearest Sam Phil, Your head is covered with snow. Would you like a hat? —Carolyn Whittingham ’11
Furious blizzard; Yet the snow falls quite slowly. A true miracle.* —Austin Mei ’12
*Translated from the Japanese by Carolyn Whittingham ’11
Addison Acquires Prized Phillips Teapot In early January, I received a call from William Heidrich ’72, who regularly supports the Addison. Bill asked me if I were aware of a silver teapot, made in Boston in 1750 and offered by Sotheby’s in its Americana sale three weeks from then. Sotheby’s was selling the stately, elegant, and important teapot that belonged to Phoebe Foxcroft Phillips and Samuel Phillips Jr., two of the founders of Phillips Academy. The teapot is a sublime example of mid-century Boston silver. Appleshaped, its body lives harmoniously with a perfectly proportioned spout. It weighs about twice the average for a Boston teapot. Obviously it was a luxury good. The coat of arms is a wonderful example of rococo design. The engraving on the lid is very rare featuring an elaborate hunting scene, with men on horses, stags, and trees, and on axis with the spout is a croft, or farmhouse, with a fox engraved in the pediment, a rebus for Foxcroft. The pot originally belonged to Phoebe’s parents. Only a handful of pieces of Boston silver from the 18th century feature a rebus. The pot was crafted by Jacob Hurd, one of the three great makers of Boston silver in the 18th century. Paul Revere is the most famous, but only because of the midnight ride. John Coney, who was Pheobe’s grandfather, was one of the pioneers
of Boston silver, but Hurd was the most important mid-century silversmith and probably the most influential. His shop produced about half of the mid-century Boston silver still in existence, so his impact on period style was enormous. His son, Nathaniel Hurd, was the best engraver working in Boston in the 18th century.
Photos Courtesy of Sotheby's
The unusual engraving on the lid would never have occurred on a London teapot, though overall in terms of form the teapot draws heavily on London style. Narrative lid engraving and a rebus more likely would appear on Irish or German silver. The teapot, then, represents a midcentury amalgam of styles, with Hurd drawing on English, Irish, and German precedents to create something uniquely American. Bill’s phone call spurred me to move quickly. A few phone calls later the money was in hand to buy the teapot. The auction was harrowing, but this wonderful object is now part of the Addison collection. —Brian T. Allen Director, Addison Gallery of American Art The Addison Gallery closed in late March and will reopen in mid-October following the replacement of the museum’s roof. The Museum Learning Center remains open. S ee more about ongoing educational programs and progress on the roof at www.addisongallery.org Andover | Spring 2011
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Yuto Watanabe ’11
—Jean Kim ’12