Furniture Hardware
1820–30
Medium
Gilt brass
Dimensions
a: H. 2 in. (5.1 cm); Diam. 2 1/4 in. (5.7 cm) b: Diam. 3 3/8 in. (8.6 cm)
Classification
Furniture hardware
Department
The American Wing
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Mrs. Edward Hunting Smith, 1968
Accession Number
Inst.68.8.5a, b
Art Historical Context
This elegant set of furniture hardware, crafted by Henry Kellam Hancock between 1820 and 1830, showcases the refined decorative arts of early nineteenth-century America. Consisting of gilt-brass elements—likely drawer pulls or escutcheons—the pieces measure just a few inches across, yet they embody the attention to detail that elevated everyday furnishings into objects of beauty. Their presence in the Metropolitan Museum’s American Wing highlights their role in the nation’s growing tradition of fine craftsmanship during the Federal and early Empire periods. Gilt brass, a material prized for i...
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...