Footnotes

• The arms are for
  BALFOUR of Balbirnie impaling CALDOR of Castlemartin
  (The bottom right hand quarter of the wife's side of the cartouche has been excluded possibly due to lack of space)
  
  Although 16 Scottish coffee urns of this type and period are known to exist they were all manufactured in Edinburgh. Alexander Johnston, who had served his apprenticeship with a leading Edinburgh maker would have been well aware of the contemporary Edinburgh fashion.
  
  Johnston led a fascinating life. When not making silver, he was an active Jacobite and as a member of Bonnie Prince Charlie's Life Guards, he was on the winning side at the Battle of Prestonpans in 1745. His fortunes suffered a downturn at the Battle of Culloden and he was subsequently captured by the Hanoverian forces.
  
  Although coffee was widely drunk by wealthy Scots in the eighteenth century, few coffee pots have survived and, until recently, the exact function of the two handed coffee pots was not known. It was believed they may have been used for holding hot water or making tea. Research in the ledgers of the Edinburgh goldsmith John Rollo, however, has revealed a bill for a coffee pot weighing 62 ounces - double the weight of the conventional single handed coffee pot – which has led specialists in the field to conclude confidently that this refers to the two handled version.

---

Category: Decorative Arts / Silver

---

Auction terms and conditions