Pitcher 1790 - 1817

This elegant pitcher was crafted in the late 18th or early 19th century by Isaac Hutton, a silversmith active in Albany, New York. His lifetime coincided with the formation of a new nation, one built upon ideals of equality and liberty, yet deeply entangled with the realities of slavery and social hierarchy. As you admire the pitcher's gleaming surface, consider its place within the rituals of the household. In a time when social status was often reinforced through material possessions, a piece like this would have signaled wealth, taste, and belonging to a certain social class. Silver objects, such as this, acted as silent markers of identity and aspiration. But this pitcher also carries the untold stories of those who labored, often invisibly, to maintain these symbols of status. This pitcher embodies a complex interplay of luxury, identity, and the unspoken realities of labor. It invites us to reflect on how objects participate in the construction of history, reflecting both achievement and exclusion.