Furniture Hardware

Art Historical Context

Step into the refined world of early 19th American decorative arts with *Furniture Hardware* by Henry Kellam Hancock, created 1820 and 1830. This delicate set of gilt brass components includes two pieces: a compact knob (a) standing 2¼ inches high with a 2½-inch diameter, and a broader element (b) measuring 3⅝ inches across. Housed in The American Wing of the Metropolitan of Art, it was generously gifted by Mrs. Edward Smith in 1968Gilt brass, with its thin gold coating over durable brass, was a hallmark of luxury in Federal and early Empire-era furniture, offering the allure of precious metal at a practical cost. Hancock's craftsmanship reflects the period's blend of functionality and elegance, when such hardware elevated everyday furnishings like cabinets or tables in affluent American homes. These small-scale objects demonstrate masterful metalworking techniques, from casting to gilding, that supported the growing sophistication of U.S. design during the young Republic. Today, this piece invites us to appreciate the unsung details that defined domestic life, reminding visitors of the artisans who turned brass into heirlooms.

About the Artist

Henry Kellam Hancock · 1816–1851

Henry Kellam Hancock (1788–1854) was a prominent American cabinetmaker based in Boston, Massachusetts, where he contributed significantly to the city's early nineteenth-century furniture trade. Son of Captain Belcher Hancock and Ann "Nancy" Susan Ackers, he entered the profession as a chairmaker around 1816 and transitioned to cabinetmaking by 1826, maintaining workshops on Orange Street from abou...