When I first saw the lovely porcelain pot at auction, I thought it was it was a coffee pot. It certainly had the shape, except that it was flared at the bottom like a woman’s skirt.
When the pot came up for bids, the auctioneer called it a chocolate pot. I had never heard of such.
I don’t know about you, but I drink my chocolate out of a mug, one cup at a time. So to see this delicate pot with the spring-pink flowers and four cute cups and saucers made me sit up and take notice.
Isn’t that a classy way to enjoy hot chocolate?
This pot looked to be 20th century, but I found that chocolate pots go way back. First, though, those of us who love chocolate have to thank the Mayans and Aztecs. The cocoa bean – that’s where the chocolate comes from – originated with them thousands of years ago. The Aztecs loved it so much that it became both a food and currency, according to the website Gourmet Sleuth.
The pots themselves first made their way to Spain and then France (where the company Limoges made some of them). The earliest ones identified were English, where they were popular in chocolate shops and coffeehouses where men debated politics or in homes (where women met?). Take a look at this 18th century French painting “The Chocolate Girl” of a servant with a cup of chocolate on a tray.
The earliest pot still around dates back to about 1685, made by an English silversmith named George Garthone. Chocolate came to North America in the late 1700s, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art has a silver pot made around that time in Boston by Edward Winslow. At right is the Winslow pot from the museum website.
By the mid-19th century, people had lost interest in the pots and they soon fell out of favor, although some were still being made as the century ended.
The earliest pots were quite different from the one I found at auction. The original had an opening in the lid for a wooden stirrer, or molinillo (a traditional Mexican whisk), and were made of such precious metals as silver and copper. The whisk would be placed through the top and twirled to create the froth inside the pot. Later ones were porcelain – just like the ones at auction – with a spout for pouring.
The pots are still are very collectible, but they apparently are not bringing in the prices they were five years ago, according to appraisers.
How can you tell a newer version of the chocolate pot from a coffee pot? The chocolate pot has a shorter spout and no tiny holes beyond the spout for catching those pesky coffee grinds. The shape is also different.
I don’t see chocolate pots that often at auction, but one did come up recently at one of my favorite auction houses. Someone had bought it earlier, the auctioneer said, but did not pay for it or pick it up. It had a little chip on one cup, but otherwise, he said, was in good condition.
This one was entirely different from the first one I had seen, the design pattern made heavy by the dark colors. It was a hand-painted Nippon with gold leaf. I guess the chip on the cup meant that someone had used the set and enjoyed it (or it had been accidentally chipped at the auction house).
Anyway, it was gorgeous, and would be a great way to sip away a winter afternoon with friends. Want to change up your hot chocolate? Here are some recipes, including two for Mexican hot chocolate (one with chili pepper).
