Snuffer Stand 1702 - 1708

This Snuffer Stand was crafted in the early 18th century by Cornelius Kierstede, a silversmith active in colonial New York. The stand reflects the complex cultural landscape of the time. Kierstede, of Dutch descent, operated in a New York society marked by Dutch, English, and indigenous influences. Made of silver, this domestic object speaks to the emerging merchant class and their aspirations of wealth and status. Note the double-headed eagle, a motif borrowed from European heraldry, suggesting an attempt to align with established European power structures. However, such displays of wealth were built upon a foundation of inequality. Colonial economies thrived on the exploitation of enslaved labor and the displacement of indigenous populations. The Snuffer Stand offers no overt acknowledgement of these facts, leaving us to consider the power dynamics that shaped its creation and use. Contemplating this object, we might consider the stories it obscures as much as the ones it tells.