Tea canister
On display
Very few silver containers made specifically for tea survive from the second half of the seventeenth century. There is a theory that tea canisters originated from the square flasks in toilet services. However, this canister most likely derives from early seventeenth-century Chinese porcelain. The engraved letter G stands for 'Green tea', which had the largest market until it was overtaken by black (Bohea) tea around 1730.
Information derived from T. Schroder, British and Continental Gold and Silver in the Ashmolean (2009)
Details
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Title
Tea canister
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Artist/maker
probably Anonymous British (goldsmith) -
Associated place
London (probable) (probable place of creation) -
Date
c. 1680 - 1690 -
Material and technique
silver
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Material index
-
Object type
-
Dimensions
10.9 cm (height)
289 g (weight) -
No. of items
2
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Credit line
Bequeathed by A.T. Carter, 1947.
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Museum location
Second floor | Gallery 55 | Silver -
Museum department
Western Art
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Accession no.
WA1947.52
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Glossary of terms
porcelain
Further reading
Schroder, Timothy, British and Continental Gold and Silver in the Ashmolean Museum (Oxford, Ashmolean Museum, 2009), 295
