Rococo Tea Equipage of Naturalistic Spoon

When tea was first used in Europe in mid 17th century, it was taken only in small quantities for medicinal purposes. Yet this single imported commodity was destined to inspire almost two centuries of social ritual and decorative arts. The term "tea equipage" is covering various items for making and serving tea however it tends to denote small tea utensiles on the table like a tea spoon, a moote spoon, a caddy, a sugar pot, a pair of tongs and so on.

The history of tea equipage depicts how human imagination and creativity develop the ritual ceremony for admiring and sharing their concept of "value". In the other words it represents a part of the human history persuing how we can become more valueable being.

Tea Equipage by the great goldsmith Paul de Lamerie is illustrated (by kind permission of Leeds Museums and Galleries - Temple Newsam House). It dates to 1735 and has a set of 12 cast whiplash teaspoons, a mote spoon, an unusual pair of tea tongs, a set of twelve tea knives, two tea caddies, a sugar caddy and a milk jug; all these are housed in an elegant, silver mounted, fitted shagreen box. The maker of the tea tongs is John Allen I - a fairly prolific early maker - and it is interesting to note that Paul de Lamerie saw fit to buy in those tongs rather than have tem produced in his workshop. This seems to have been by no means unusual, as other such examples have been recorded. Source: Dr. David Shlosberg, "Eighteenth Century Silver Tea Tongs"This equipage, the earliest complete English tea set preserved, was made as a wedding present for the Huguenors Jean Daniel Boissier and Suzanne Judith Berchere who were married at St. Peter le Poor, London, in April, 1735, and later purchased Lime Grove, Putney. The bride's father, Jaques Louis Berchere, from Paris, a jeweler and banker in Broad Street and an officer of the French church, Threadneedle Street, was probably responsible for the commission. Jean Daniel was the son of Guillaume Boissier, admitted as a Burgess of Geneva in 1695.

The three canisters and cream jug bear the London hallmarks for 1735-6, and were specially made for the set. The other items were not hallmarked. The canisters are engraved with initials G., B. and S. for Green tea, Bohea tea and sugar respectively. With the exception of the strainer spoon and sugar nippers, every peace, including silver mounts on the original velvet-lined mahogany case, is engraved with the arms of Boissier impaling Berchere. The intervinted handles of the 12 spoons, the elaborate scroll handle of the cream boat, and the chased, cast and engraved ornament on the canisters are early examples of the Rococo style in English silver, of which Paul de Lamerie was the leading exponent. The knives (used to cut the cane-sugar) and the sugar nippers were supplied by a specialist John Allen, who registered his mark as a smallworker at Goldsmiths' Hall in May, 1733.

Combination of Whip patten and Rococo Foliate Scroll Work Originated Rococo Grand pattern

The design of teaspoons in Paul De Lamerie's Tea Equipage combines the Whip pattern and Rococo foliate scroll work, of which no other examples have come to light.

This combination clearly originates the Rococo Grand pattern which would be characterised by the combination of bigger Rococo foliate scroll work with Whip pattern's pieced 'S' curve, the shell-shaped bowl, Ionic scrolls order on the front side and "rocaille" decoration on the back side of the joint part between the stem and the bowl.

Most of Rococo Grand pattern teaspoons were producted from 1736 to 1750s.

Whip pattern Teaspoons, 1735

Whip pattern. Set of 6 mid-eighteenth century teaspoons. These are only known examples of teaspoons in the pure form of this pattern. Courtesy Victoria and Albert Museum. Source: "SILVER FLATWARE English,Irish and Scottish 1660-1980", Ian PickfordThe Whip pattern is one of the most rare of those known from the eighteenth century. Its name derives from the shape of the stem which is formed like a whip with its end bent over and coiled back round the stem. Until recently it was only known from mid-eighteenth century salt spoons. The discovery of the illustrated teaspoons, together with the examples by Paul de Lamerie which combine Whip with rococo naturalism, show that the range of this pattern must have been greater although no other examples have come to light.

In 1766 William and Thomas Chawner supplied Parker & Wakelin with 'Twisted handle salt spoons' (Garrard Mss. Workmen's Ledger No. 2, Victoria abd Albert Museum). This may referto the Whip pattern, although salt spoons with twisted handles of other patterns do occur at this period, such as the Onslow.

Lewis Pantin I (English, active ca. 1734–44)
London, England, 1739–40
Silver, mahogany
Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Gift of Alan and Simone Hartman and Harriet
J. Bradbury Fund, 2001, 2001.97.1-4

Gold teaspoons with a pair of tea tongs by Francis Harrache, circa 1750, in the Gilbert Collection.22-karat gold standard
Maker's mark : FH with a crown above for Francis Harache
Spoons : Length:10.5 cm, Weight 22 gm
Sugar Tongs : Length:12.8 cm, Weight:58 gm

Provenance : Sir John Noble, Bart., Ardkinglass.
Sale : Sotherby's, February 6, 1986, lot 48.

The spoons each have a shell-shaped bowl, which is chased on the outside and plain on the inside, with a leaf molding chased on the lower frontjunction. The upper end of the stem is chased on both sides with foliage, scrolls, and shell motifs. The nippers are of scissor form, with similar bowls and decoration.

The spoons are apparently raised from a single piece of metal and the nippers from two pieces, with a central pin through the pivot point.

Two sets of mid-eighteenth-century gold teaspoons are recorded by Arthur Grimwade, one of about 1745, with a pair of nippers, by John Wirgman, and the other of about 1750, unmarked, with a pair of sugar tongs and a straining spoon. The former are of plain Hanoverian pattern, but the latter are of similar pattern to the Gilbert set.

English gold plate other than snuffboxes and freedom boxes is very rare: a list published by Grimwade of all items then known from the period 1507-1830 falling outside the above-mentioned categories amounted to only about eighty objects. Inevitably, other examples have since come to light; indeed, neither these spoons nor the Gilbert gold waiters and cup and cover were recorded by Grimwade at that time.

Set of six gold teaspoons in mid-eighteenth century rococo style. London, 1896, A. & A. H. Benson for Hunt & Roskell. Courtesy Sotheby's. This set of six gold teaspoons was made by A. & A. H. Benson for Hunt & Roskell. 1896, with a pair of sugar tongs and a straining spoon.

A set of 12 Hanoverian type Gold Teaspoons by John Wirgman, circa 1750. with a pair of sugar tongs En Suite. Christie'sTHE SPOONS WITH MARK OF JOHN WIRGMAN, LONDON, CIRCA 1750, THE SUGAR NIPS APPARENTLY UNMARKED, CIRCA 1750
Hanoverian pattern, the sugar-nips of scissor action with shell grips, each engraved with a cypher, the teapoons each marked on the back of handle
6.6 oz. (206 gr.) (13)

This set was sold at GBP 18,750 on 2 June 2009, Christie's, London, King Street
Provenance
Herbert Augustus Salwey (1848-1939) of Runnymede Park, Surrey
The late Herbert Augustus Salwey, of Runnymede Park; Christie's London, 19 April 1936, lot 91 (£125 to Parkes).
Michael Noble; Christie's London, 13 December 1967, lot 41.

Literature
The Connoisseur, August 1951, vol. XXIV.

Another unmarked pair of sugar-nips with very similar shell shaped grips, known as the 'Gregory Gold Sugar-Tongs', originally part of a collection of English Gold assembled by Nathaniel Mayer Victor, 3rd Baron Rothschild was sold Christie's London, 20 November 2001, lot 8.

Christie's

The Gregory Gold Sugar-Tongs

The Gregory Gold sugar tongs, unmarked. Christie's A pair of George III gold sugar-tongs, circa 1760, unmarked. Of scissor form, with scroll handles and stems with shell terminals, the central circular plaque engraved with the crest of Gregory.
4¾in. (12cm.) long, 1oz. (48gr.).
This was sold at GBP 14,100 on 20 November 2001, Christie's, London, King Street


Provenance
Nathaniel Mayer Victor, 3rd Baron Rothschild (1910-1990)

Literature
A. Grimwade, 'A New List of Old English Gold Plate', The Connoisseur, pt. III, p. 86
M. Clayton, The Collector's Dictionary of the Silver and Gold of Great Britain and North America, London, 1985, p. 382

Exhibited
London, Victoria and Albert Museum, 1997-2000

Gold

The value of gold owes much to its particular qualities as a metal: beauty, malleability, scope for ornamentation, and rarity. Moreover gold objects have frequently been melted down for bullion in times of upheaval, crisis, or simply changes in fashion. Thus the intrinsic value of gold has contributed both to the small number of pieces originally created, and also to the lack of surviving pieces.

The court of King Henry VIII for example was, according to contemporary accounts, rich in gold table articles, such as salts, ewers, candlesticks, spoons and over thirty-five gold cups, many set with diamonds, rubies and pearls. These were more than matched by ecclesiastical treasures, the cathedrals of the day containing such works of art as a 10th century cross and altar of gold at Winchester, and eight 'great and fair candlesticks of pure gold' at Salisbury. There were many such items given by monarchs through the centuries. The Jewel House records from the time of Queen Elizabeth I record in detail the numerous items of gold in the Royal collection (Harley Mss 1650 and Stowe Mss 555).

The splendor of those centuries is now all but lost to us, as King Charles I ordered the destruction of the entire collection of Royal plate to meet his financial needs. This devastation was completed during the Civil War, and in 1649 it was ordered that any remaining gold and silver, including Edward VI's crown and the other regalia, be melted down and sold together with all the Royal jewels 'to the best advantage of the Commonwealth.' The one survivor was the eagle-shaped ampulla of the late fourteenth century, which still forms part of the Coronation Regalia.

Excluding the ampulla, the earliest English gold plate which survives is the chalice and paten of 1507 at Corpus Christi College, Oxford. For the period between 1600 and 1670, some thirteen articles are recorded. The next dated piece is the gold porringer and cover in the present sale, dated 1671 (lot 11).

The first attempt in modern times to compile a list of all known gold objects was written by E. A. Jones, Old English Plate, London, 1907. Arthur Grimwade, for many years the director of the silver department at Christie's, updated Jones's work in his comprehensive article, "A New List of English Gold Plate", The Connoisseur, 1951, listing all known English and Scottish gold objects, excluding snuff and freedom-boxes. The sum total of pre-1800 gold items recorded at that time was fifty-nine. Since then perhaps another dozen pieces have come to light. The twelve gold objects in the present sale therefore represent some fifteen percent of the total known pre-1800 English gold objects.

The present sale with twelve English gold pieces is the largest ever. Indeed, only once in 235 years of auctions at Christie's has there been a comparable sale of Magnificent Gold. This was in 1967 when Christie's sold the Michael Noble collection which included ten English pieces. The core of today's sale is a collection of ten English 17th and 18th Century gold objects assembled by the late Nathaniel Mayer Victor, 3rd Baron Rothschild, working closely with one of the greatest of English silver dealers, Thomas Lumley (lots 8-17). It is a measure of their quality and rarity that in recent years these pieces were exhibited by the Victoria and Albert Museum. To this group, the present owner has added two further 18th century English gold objects (lots 18 and 19).

From the earliest piece in the collection, the superb Smith Porringer made in London in 1671 with perfect proportions and in wonderful condition, to the covered beaker made by John Bodington in 1697 and fully recorded in the Minute Book of the Levant Company, to perhaps the earliest known cream-jug and certainly the only recorded 18th Century example in gold, the quality, condition and historic value of these gold items is virtually unsurpassed.

A group of four exceptionally well documented English 18th century racing cups form a fascinating subsection of this collection. It includes Her Majesty's Gold Cup, Richmond, 1706, by the great Huguenot goldsmith Pierre Harache and engraved with the Royal Arms of Queen Anne, patroness of the race. A second Yorkshire race-cup, The York Ladies' Gold Cup of 1725, is engraved with a depiction of the winning horse Routh's Surley. The Newcastle Gold Cup, 1730, by James Kirkup of Newcastle is one of only two known gold objects made in that town. The Chester Gold Cup, 1792, by Peter and Anne Bateman and presented by Lord Grosvenor, unlike the other traditional two handled cups, is in the form of an exceptionally large tumbler cup.

This sale is an opportunity to view a group of gold items the like of which will surely never be repeated. The extreme rarity, superb condition, impeccable provenance and, above all, the sheer beauty of these gold objects make this sale a unique opportunity to acquire a piece of history.

The Property of a Gentleman

Including The Collection of English Gold formed by the Late Nathaniel Mayer Victor, 3rd Baron Rothschild (lots 8-17)

The Gregory Gold Sugar-Tongs

Christie's

Tea Equipage by John (I) Derussat, circa 1750. Source : Cristie'sA mid-eighteenth century pair of tea caddies, sugar box and set of twelve teaspoons, and pair of sugar nippers all fitting into a contemporary black lackuered box. The teaspoons are formed as Rococo Grand pattern, and a pair of sugar tongs is matched design. Maker's mark on teaspoons, a pair of sugar tongs script JD, acorn above.

Tis set was auctioned at Christie's in 2009.

Tea Equipage by John (I) Derussat, circa 1750. Source : "SILVER FLATWARE English, Irish and Scothish 1660-1980", Ian PickfordA mid-eighteenth century pair of tea caddies, sugar box and set of twelve teaspoons, a mote spoon and pair of sugar nippers all fitting into a contemporary black lackuered box with chinoiserie scenes. The teaspoons are formed as openwork vines, with ladybirds incorporated in the decoration. Maker's mark on teaspoons, mote spoon and sugar nippers script JD, acorn above. Courtesy Phillips.

This maker's mark "script JD with acorn above" is a Huguenot silversmith, John (I) Derussat (? 1700-58) , Grimwade 3632, according to Mr. Brian Beet. He identified this important silversmith in the article "Foreign snuffbox makers in eighteenth century London", The Silver Society Journal 14, 2002.

Tea Equipage by Paul de Lamerie, 1751. This set of a pair of Tea Caddies and a Sugar Box was made for Charles, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (1735-1805).This set of a pair of Tea Caddies and a Sugar Box was made for Charles, 1st Marquess Cornwallis (1735-1805).

London, 1751–52, Marked by: Paul de Lamerie. 6.7 x 14 x 9.8 cm, 1.2 kg. Marks: Struck under base with hallmarks (leopard's head, lion passant, date letter for 1751-2) and with maker's mark of Paul de Lamerie.

Mid-eighteenth century silver-gilt Harlequin teaspoons and mote spoon. Courtesy Sotheby's. The harlequin pattern dating from about 1760 combined with Rococo naturalistic style make this set extreamly unique. The details of the casting are superb, even down to the simian features of the face.

A set of Harlequin spoons was auctioned at Christie's on 28 November 2006. An usual set of 6 mid-18th century silver teaspoons, unmarked, circa 1750/60. The stems modelled as a harlequin in front of a fruiting vine, the decoration continuing with fruiting vines chased to front & back of bowls, 4 oz. Sold at GBP 456.

A set of 6 Harlequin teaspoons, unmarked, circa 1750/60. Sold at GBP 456 Christie's, 28 Nov 2006.

Cup and Saucer by Chelsea, 1759-69. [Cup] H: 4.4cm, W: 8.9cm, [Saucer] Diam: 13.0cmThis cup and saucer are from a tea and coffee service for six people. Tea was generally drunk from handle-less tea bowls of the Chinese type during the early 18th century, but handled teacups were made in Britain by the 1740s. These were more costly to make than tea bowls, and they didn't pack tightly together for carriage to distant markets. Both types were in common use by the time this service was made. Teacups were usually slightly lower and had a wider rim than coffee cups, possibly because the smell of tea is better appreciated if drunk from an open bowl. Satirical prints of the years around 1800 occasionally show tea being drunk from the saucer, but it is clear that this was not done in polite company. Afternoon and after-dinner tea were generally served by the lady of the house in the drawing room in comfortably-off households.

Cup and Saucer by Chelsea, 1759-69. [Cup] H: 4.4cm, W: 8.9cm, [Saucer] Diam: 13.0cmDesign & Designing
The service is similar to one offered at auction in London in 1770. This was described as 'a very curious and matchless tea and coffee equipage, crimson and gold, most inimitably enamell'd in figures, from the designs of Watteau'. Although the figure subjects here are not directly copied from the work of the French Rococo painter Jean-Antoine Watteau (1684-1721), they are certainly inspired by his work.

Tea Equipage in Tortoiseshell Case by Burrange Davenport, 1771This tea equipage, made by Burrange Davenport in 1771, clearly shows the Neo-classic style. The design of tea caddy is derived from Greek vase or Roman urn and the design of the spoons is called the Bright-cut Old English pattern.

Comprising a tea caddy, sugar urn, set of six teaspoons and a pair of sugar tongs; the caddy with small cap, the sugar urn with larger cover, both urn-form, on openwork square base, the body with cast applied swags and oval cartouches, with two applied raised handles, the fluted covers with pineapple finials, the cartouches engraved on one side with a coat-of-arms in shield and on the other with a crest; marked under bases and on caddy cap, also with scratchweights 14=5 and 14=13; the spoons and tongs with cast openwork feather-edge handles, the spoons engraved with a different crest, the tongs with the same crest, five spoons marked with maker's mark, in a fitted bombé tortoiseshell case inlaid with ivory borders and applied with cast silver furniture, the handle escutcheon engraved with the same coat-of-arms in a shield, the interior lined with blue silk and silver galooning, the bases of the tea and sugar urns and the silver lockplate of the case all engraved "Jan.y 1772"

Caddy 6 3/8 in. (16.2 cm.) high; case 9½ in. (24.2 cm.) long; 33 oz. 10 dwt. (1,041 gr.) weighable silver


Provenance
Collection of Colonel H. H. Mulliner, of London and Clifton Court, Rugby, sold Christie's, London, 9 July 1924, lot 1


Literature
H. H. Mulliner, The Decorative Arts in England, 1660-1780, figs. 112-115


Lot Notes
The arms are those of Bradney with those of Mico quartering Child on an escutcheon of pretence, as borne by John Bradney (d. 1809), apothecary, and his wife Martha, daughter of Joseph Mico, merchant of London.

They were married on January 9, 1772, at St. Mary Aldermary in London, and this equipage, engraved "Jan.y 1772" on the caddies and the case, was undoubtedly a wedding present. Martha Mico was a co-heiress with a at least one sister. John Bradney's death is recorded in the Gentleman's Magazine for March 29, 1809 "At his house on Clapham Common, Surry, aged 77 John Bradney Esq. formerly an Apothecary in Tower Street, London."


Price
This item was sold at $79,200 (estimate price 40,000-60,000) in "Important Silver and Objects of Vertu" (Sale 1773) on 26 April 2006, Christie's New York, Rockefeller Plaza.

George III fruitwood tea caddies shaped like fruit. Price range from £3,000-9,000.The finest fruit shaped wooden tea caddies were producted in the late 18th century England and also in the early 19th century Germany.

They were made of various fruitwoods which often corresponded to the fruit they depict. Simpler turned shapes usually have polished finishes, but the more elaborate carved fruits, such as melons and even pineapples, often have painted finishes.

These pieces typically have a threaded top which covers a tight-fitting inner lid. European examples, usually apples and pears, have looser hinged lids, simple keyhole escutcheons of steel, silver, or iron, and are lined in lead foil.

The prototype of these fruit shaped wooden tea caddies was probably the Japanese makie small boxies imported into Europe since the late 17th century.

Peach-shaped Incense Container. Edo period, late of 17th-middle of 18th century Musée national des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon, France. © Photo-RMN / © Thierry OllivierMelon-shaped Inconse Container Edo period, late 17th century to mid 18th century. Musée national des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon, France. © Photo-RMN / © Thierry Ollivier