Tea pot
ATTRIBUTED TO A MEMBER OF THE FILLEY FAMILY
Pennsylvania, Probably Philadelphia (or possibly Connecticut), circa 1825-1850
Tinplated sheet iron, original painted decoration, height 8 ¼ inches

Although this form is traditionally referred to as a coffee pot,  this one and at least one other have an interior strainer with punched holes at the base of the spout suggesting that they may have originally been intended as tea pots. The exceptionally fine multi-colored floral painted decoration and vibrant red background color of this pot are attributes that have come to be associated with the members of the Filley family who produced very similar decorated tin wares in both Pennsylvania and Connecticut. For a discussion of these makers see Gina Martin and Lois Tucker, American Painted Tinware: A Guide to Its Identification, vol. 3 (Cooperstown, NY, 2004), pp. 10-20 and 74-116. Six related examples have been published. Two at Winterthur are illustrated in Clarence P. Hornung, The Treasury of American Design and Antiques: Two Volumes in One (New York, 1986), p. 424. One at the Hershey Museum is illustrated in Margaret Coffin, The History and Folklore of American Country Tinware 1700-1900 (New York, 1968), cover illustration and unpaginated color plate. One in the American Museum in Britain illustrated American and British Folk Art (London, 1976), unpaginated. One is illustrated in Jane Katcher, David A. Schorsch and Ruth Wolfe, Eds., Expressions of Innocence and Eloquence, Selections from the Jane Katcher Collection of Americana (New Haven and London, 2006),pages 281, and 400.