Tea Caddy

Simeon Soumaine

1725–40 · Silver · The American Wing

Rare survivals in early American silver, this pair of octagonal tea caddies and matching sugar box emulate contemporary English design. They also evoke the passion for tea–drinking and its costly accessories that became as fashionable in the Colonies as they were abroad. Each vessel is engraved with the arms and crest of the Bayard family of New York. Although only one tea caddy entered the Metropolitan’s collection in 1964 (64.249.5a,b), the set was reunited in 2015 with the purchase of the matching caddy and sugar box (2015.93.1a,b-2a,b).

Artist

Simeon Soumaine

Date

1725–40

Medium

Silver

Culture

American

Department

The American Wing

Credit line

Gift of E. M. Newlin, 1964