Description:
Fused or Sheffield silver-plated oblong urn, often called a tea or hot water urn, with two large lions' mask handles and a two-handled spigot with ivory tops, which is stamped "PATENT" in the center, scratched "15849" twice, and marked "TC" once on the underside of the cover. The side of the urn above the spigots is engraved with a round wreath with a raised hand holding an arrow with a ribbon around the the lower arm. These urns, which supplanted the teakettle and spirit lamp in teamaking the last quarter of the 18th century, were used to refill the teapot with hot water without calling a servant in. They were made in Sheffield plate from the 1760s, about the same time that they appeared in silver. 18th century examples were normally small, usually no more than 18" high; by the end of the century, more ostentatious designs were introduced, which echoed fashionable teapot shapes. Simple scroll handles were replaced with die-stamped handles with flowers and foliage or lions' masks with ring drop handles, and the shell-carved ivory taps were often surrounded by swags of acanthus leaves. Originally, most were designed to keep the contents hot with a "box iron", a heated iron ingot inserted inside an internal waterproof cylindrical holder; later many were heated with spirit lamps mounted on their bases, with their bodies raised above on applied lions' paw supports, such as on this urn. This urn has a removable, raised cover with a ball finial; over die-stamped geometric friezes around the rims of the body and removable spirit lamp; over a flat shaped base with a gadrooned band around the upper edge; and four ball feet.
Link to share this object record:
https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+1998.13 |
