Weißenfels, 1800–1830, Saxony, Solid Silver Coffee Pot

Solid silver coffee pot — Weißenfels, circa 1810–1830

Empire – Biedermeier period
Height: 23 cm — Length from spout to handle: 22 cm — Gross weight: 485 g

Solid silver coffee pot with an ovoid body entirely adorned with long vertical ribs, tapering at the base to meet a gadrooned knot. It rests on a circular pedestal with a smooth groove, bordered by a frieze of gadroons that echoes the decoration on the body.

The shoulder is accentuated by concentric moldings and surmounted by a flared neck, also ribbed, whose rim forms a scalloped crown. The removable lid features a rosette of radiating godrons, surrounded by a smooth band and a scalloped border. It is topped by a handle in the shape of a stylized acorn, combining a smooth upper section with a godron-decorated base.

The slender, curved spout extends from the body’s ribs and ends in the head of a mythical creature resembling a stylized dolphin with its mouth open. The protruding eyes and chiseled reliefs of the head lend this element a particularly expressive character. A broad handle made of blackened wood, secured by silver fasteners—the upper one ending in a scroll—balances the silhouette.

The clean lines, the regular repetition of the ribs, and the contrast between the silver and the blackened wood place this coffee pot firmly within the tradition of Empire Neoclassicism, marking the transition to the Biedermeier style of the Germanic countries.

The rim of the base bears the Weißenfels hallmark—two crossed swords accompanied by the number “12”—indicating a fineness of 12 loth, or 750/1000. A second hallmark, resembling a capital “V,” remains unidentified.

A later dedicatory inscription, dated 1904, is engraved around the base and attests to the piece’s transfer of ownership in the early 20th century.