Silver and Glass

The Popes’ collection of silverware includes pieces from England, Ireland, Germany and France, and spans the 18th to early 20thcenturies. Notable items are English teapots by John Lambe, 1784, and Hester Bateman, 1789; a 19th-century eight-piece French Odiot tea service; and a Tiffany toilet set in its original leather traveling case, 1888.

Glassware in the collection is English and American. Functional items include stemware, vases and pitchers, among them two Heisey pitchers. Decorative objects, such as colored Bohemian boxes, candlesticks and decanters, are exhibited throughout the museum’s period rooms.

American Silver Candy DishAmerican Silver Candy Dish
Silver plate over copper (Sheffield ware), ca. 1840-1860
ca. 2 ¾ x 4 ½ in.

This dish, in the form of a bat with its wings spread wide, is the only remaining piece of Gorham silver in the collection. It is likely an American Gothic Revival piece. During the heyday of American silver manufacturing, ca 1850-1940, Gorham’s products were known for their quality.

Hill-Stead Silver Odiot Tea Set

Photo by Deborah Key

French Tea Set
Silver, House of Odiot

One of several tea sets in the collection, this is the largest set, with eight pieces. The Popes purchased this set for 3,500 francs from the House of Odiot in Paris while on their European Grand Tour of 1888-89.
Impressive craftsmanship and technical know-how have guided the House of Odiot for over 300 years: Odiot silversmiths still seek daily inspiration from its unique collection of technical drawings that date back as far as the 18th Century; their tools – such as anvils, burnishers, drawtongs and cross-peen hammers – have remained unchanged since the time of Louis XV.

Hill-Stead Silver Lambe teapot bone handle

Photo by Deborah Key

English Teapot
Sterling silver with ivory handle, 1784
Designed and made by John Lambe

This is a significant teapot in the collection, designed and made by John Lambe. It is an octagonal shape with a straight spout and C-shaped wooden handle, with detailed engraving. Along with a Hester Bateman teapot and other English teapots in the collection, this piece exemplifies the popularity of using pieces of old silver with distinctive colonial designs to decorate a house such as Hill-Stead that is steeped in the colonial revival.

Hill-Stead Silver Bateman teapot wood handle

Photo by Deborah Key

English Teapot
Sterling silver with wood handle and wood finial on lid, 1785
Made by Hester Bateman

This oval-shaped pot with a C-shaped dark wooden handle and straight spout is by Hester Bateman, one of the finest English silversmiths. Characteristic of her work is the bright-cut engraving and beading. Along with a John Lambe teapot and other English teapots in the collection, this piece exemplifies the popularity of using pieces of old silver with distinctive colonial designs to decorate a house such as Hill-Stead that is steeped in the colonial revival.

Hill-Stead Silver set

Photo by Deborah Key

English Tea Services
Assorted Tea Services
Silver, 18th and 19th centuries

Hill-Stead Glassware Red Bottle and Goblet

Photo by Deborah Key

Assorted Colored Glass
English and Bohemian, 19th century

Rather than displaying these ruby red pieces throughout their home, the Popes originally clustered them in one guest suite – the Mulberry Suite, so named because of its primary color palette on carpet and wall covering.

Stemware & Utilitarian Wares

The Popes’ 1909 household inventory lists one particularly complete set of glassware that included stemware and glasses for champagne, claret, wine, sherry, whiskey, liqueurs, ice cream plates, berry dishes, and finger bowls. Several other sets of rock crystal and cut glass stemware are also listed. One set of note in the collection is a Waterford crystal group of compotes and bowls. Several utilitarian pitchers, vases and bowls remain and are on view in the Butler’s pantry. Most notable among the purely utilitarian wares are two Heisy glass pitchers, made in Ohio and possibly acquired when the family lived in Cleveland.

Hill-Stead Glassware (1)

Photo by Deborah Key

Waterford Crystal Set
Rectangular glass bowl with abstracted foliate motif
Part of a set of Waterford compotes and bowls