An American Silver Teapot, Jacob Hurd, Boston, circa 1740

of apple form shape, finely engraved at the shoulder with a band of interlaced strapwork with satyr masks and shells at intervals, one side engraved with a contemporary cypher CJM within a baroque cartouche, wood and silver baluster finial, the partly-fluted scroll spout with baluster drop below, base engraved with contemporary block initials C/I*M

John and Mary (Chaloner) Channing, Newport
Sold, Sotheby's, New York, 21 June 1989, lot 135

Kane, Patricia E., Colonial Massachusetts Silversmiths and Jewelers, Yale Univeristy Press, New Haven, 1998, p. 610

slight wear to engraving; later handle, perhaps repaired where foot meets body
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

According to Patricia Kane, this teapot was commissioned by John and Mary Channing. A wealthy Newport merchant , Channing was a founding member of the Redwood Library, and sat with his wife for portraits by Robert Feke about 1747 (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston).  The same monogram appears on a silver porringer by Hurd, illus. Hollis French, Jacob Hurd and his Sons, Silversmiths, pl. XVI.

From the memoir of their grandson, William Ellery Channing (1848):
John Channing... was a respectable, and, til towards the close of life, a prosperous merchant of Newport.  The wife of John Channing, Jr., was Mary Chaloner (the widow of Dr. James Robinson, physician), whom the elderly people of Newport well remember for her energy of character and dignity of manner.  They still describe her as sitting, of an afternoon, behind the counter of the small shop, - by means of which she supported her family in her widowhood, - dressed with great precision, busily knitting, and receiving her customers or visitors with an air of formal courtesy that awed the young and commanded general respect.  She was a high-spririted and ardent, yet religious and conscientious woman, and remarkable for activity and method.

The couple had seven children, including John, a sea captain and privateer, and William, who served as Rhode Island Attorney General during the Revolution.  His son William Ellery Channing became a major figure of the Unitarian movement.