American colonial interest – A George II sterling silver teapot, London 1748 by John Swift (free. 10th June 1725)Of inverted baluster form upon a spreading domed foot, with a cast curved shell moulded spout opposite a wooden C scroll handle pinned to shell scroll junctions, the hinged domed lid surmounted by a cast artichoke finial. The body with embossed decoration of an asymmetrical rocaille C scroll cartouche adjoined by floral swags, the lid and surround with similar decoration including flat chased rocaille, additionally to the foot. Each cartouche engraved with a contemporaneous coat of arms. Fully marked underneath, the lid unmarked.Length – 22.7 cm / 8.75 inchesWeight – 607 grams / 19.52 ozt The arms are for Philipse Probably for Adolphus Philipse (1665–1749/50) of New York. The patriarch of the important Philipse family of New York was Frederick Philipse (born Frederick Flypsen; 1626– December 23, 1702) who was born in in Bolsward, Netherlands. A merchant, he arrived in America as early as 1653. In 1662, he married Margaret Hardenbrook de Vries (c.1637-c.1691), a wealthy and driven widow. Together, and variously in league with slavers, pirates, and other undesirables, the couple amassed a fortune.Beginning in 1672 Philipse and some partners started acquiring land in what was to become lower Westchester County, New York. When the British took over the Dutch colony in 1674, Philipse pledged his allegiance to the Crown and was rewarded with a title and manorship for his holdings, which ultimately grew to some 81 sq mi (210 km2). Serving later on the governor's executive council, he was subsequently banned from government office for conducting a slave trade into New York. Upon his death, Philipse was one of the greatest landholders in the Province of New York. He owned the vast stretch of land spanning from Spuyten Duyvil Creek in the Bronx (then in lower Westchester County), to the Croton River. He was regarded by some as the richest man in the colony. The inventory of Adolphus Philipse of Philipsburg Manor dated 12th February 1749 lists the following silverware: 2 silver tankards1 Do mugs6 new silver spoons6 old ditto1 silver teapot6 silver forks1 Do pepper box It is important to note that as well as silverware, and other objects such as a ‘6 flax spinning wheels, ‘1 old gun’ and ‘2 small earthen potts’ on one side, upon the other above livestock lists the names of twenty-three enslaved men, women and children. (Courtesy People Not Property) Adolphus Philipse (1665–1750) The second son of Frederick and Margaret Philipse, Adolphus (or Adolph) Philipse was baptized on November 15, 1665. Actively involved in the family’s trading business and land interests, he headed them for nearly thirty years following his father’s death. As the executor of his father’s estate, he also inherited the northern portion of the Manor lands and responsibility for Frederick Philipse II until the younger Philipse reached 21 years of age. He increased the family’s landholding with the purchase of the 250-square-mile tract known as the Highland Patent, a swath of land north of the main estate which extended from the Hudson River eastward to the border of Connecticut. Adolph's business, political and social interests, like those of his parents, were centered in New York City. Like his father, he served on the Governor’s Council, often supporting the position of the merchant class over the landed gentry.During his tenure as head of the family trade enterprises, he continued to increase the family’s fortune, sending ships far and wide. He worked alone and with a variety of partners including his brothers-in-law, Jacobus van Cortlandt and Philip French, and Jewish merchant traders Moses Levy, Samuel Levy and Jacob Franks. Historic records show Philipse vessels at the time moving between Barbados, Jamaica, the French and Dutch colonies of Martinique, Curacao, and Surinam, as well as multiple points in Europe. Adolph Philipse dealt predominantly in dry goods, trading in items ranging from luxury to practical. The Caribbean trade provided sugar, rum, molasses, cacao, old iron, and enslaved people. His New York goods ranged from baskets and brooms created by Native peoples, to wheat, butter, ship's biscuits (hardtack), and lumber from the Manor lands. Luxury goods from Europe and Asia were also common items. He resumed the family’s participation in the Madagascar trade between 1715 and 1721 through a loophole in the Dutch East India Company’s monopoly. Adolph Philipse never married and had no children. He died in 174950 without a will, leaving his nephew Frederick Philipse II to inherit his entire estate (reuniting the northern and southern sections of the main Manor estate) and gain legal status as Lord of the Manor. The inventory of the estate created a rich historic record, including a variety of currencies from around the world, as well as a list of the names of twenty-three enslaved Africans at the Upper Mills portion of the Manor, and others from a house in Manhattan. He is interred at the Old Dutch Church in Sleepy Hollow, New York. Frederick Philipse II (1695–1751) Orphaned at the age of four upon the death of his parents Philip Philipse and Maria Sparks Philipse, young Frederick Philipse II was brought from Barbados to New York to live with his grandfather Frederick Philipse I and his second wife, Catherine Van Cortlandt. In his grandfather’s will, Van Cortlandt was charged with the guardianship and education of the younger Philipse. Seeking to fulfil her duties, she took young Frederick to London for his education. After nine years abroad, he returned in 1716 with a degree in law. He worked with his uncle, Adolph Philipse, to learn the family business and began building the social and political relationships he would need to take his place in New York society.In 1719, Philipse married Johanna Brockholst, and that same year began a lengthy career in public service as Alderman, Assemblyman, and New York Supreme Court Justice. To accommodate his growing family, and to better present himself as an English gentleman, Philipse began an expansion of his Manor Hall in Yonkers. After the death of Adolph Philipse in early 1750, the manor lands of Philipsburg came under the sole control and ownership of Frederick II. Within 18 months, however, Frederick Philipse II was dead from tuberculosis. In his will, he left his Westchester estate and lands to his eldest son, Frederick Philipse III. He divided the 205,000 acre Highland Patent to the north among his other children.