THIRD QUARTER 18TH CENTURY

Tea drinking was an essential part of everyday life and culture in America in the 18th century; so much so that an added tax on the brew famously compelled already incensed colonists to revolt against the British crown. Dutch trader Peter Stuyvesant is widely credited with introducing tea to the European settlements via New Amsterdam (later New York) around the mid-17th century and the practice of taking tea became widely adopted and beloved as the colonies grew in the proceeding century. Existing records of George Washington’s first tea order from England include a request for “6 lb. best Hyson tea” and other favorites of the statesman included “Congou”, as seen on the present lot (see Laurie Barnes, “High Tea: Glorious Manifestations East and West”, Norton Museum of Art, 2014, p. 106).

Increasingly global trade of commodities like tea were inevitably also reflected in the luxury wares utilized to store, brew and serve teas. For instance, tea wares in silver were so critical to Paul Revere’s success as a silversmith that he chose a silver teapot to be included in his famous portrait by John Singleton Copley in 1768 (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, 30.781). Fine Chinese export porcelain was similarly extravagant and were perfectly suited for the precious tea leaves also arriving from the East. The present lot is an excellent encapsulation of this rich global trade: the six-part set proudly proclaims the contents of a wide assortment of alluring Chinese tea varieties on its lids in precious gilding and further conveys exoticism with the striking hand-painted landscapes depicted on their bodies. The custom pewter base is likely related to the shipment of the set; tea was often shipped in boxes lined with a tin and lead mixture to maintain potency. A nearly identical set at the British Museum (Franks.1688) can be seen with a full pewter container and lid; perhaps the one accompanying the present lot had previously formed a complete enclosure over the set.