Silver coffee pot

Matthew Boulton was one of the foremost industrialists and entrepreneurs of the 18th century. He resolved to establish himself as a leading manufacturer of larger and high-quality metalwares, his aim being to overturn Birmingham's reputation as a centre for cheap and shoddy metalware production. In 1761 Boulton leased land just outside Birmingham, at Soho, Handsworth, where he constructed a range of workshops and industrial buildings. By 1765-7 his Soho Manufactory had a grandiose principal building, which housed workshops, warehousing, and display rooms, which he had developed primarily for the production of silver and plated wares. This silver coffee pot is of exceptional quality and rarity. It represents the standard of work Boulton aspired to accomplish and could begin to execute by this time. The design of this piece can be attributed to James Wyatt (1746-1813), best known as an architect and interior designer in the neo-classical taste of the late eighteenth century.