Tea canister, one of a pair

Date1750 (dated)

MediumTin-glazed earthenware (delft / delftware)

DimensionsH:3 3/4"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1981-48,1

DescriptionOblong rectangular canister with convex recessed angles. Cover missing. Blue tin glaze with blue powder ground; reserves in blue underglaze painted with Chinese figures in landscapes and flower sprays. On the top, two small reserves painted with trees and two fan-shaped reserves inscribed "Bohea Tea." Oval cylindrical openings in the top.Label TextThe numerals on a small glazed patch on the bottom of this canister are not completely clear, but most likely they represent the date 1750. The very fine powder of the blue ground suggests a London attribution. The usual twentieth-century term for this form is tea caddie, but tea canister, tea bottle, and tea jar were the terms used in the eighteenth-century. A tea caddie was the wooden box in which tea canisters were fitted, especially those made of silver or glass.

The top of this canister is inscribed "Bohea / Tea." Its mate in marked "Green / Tea."Inscription(s)"Bohea / Tea" painted on the top. "1750" inscribed on base.Mark(s)NoneProvenanceL. L. Lipski
Jellinek & Sampson Antiques, London