Tea Caddy (lid)

1741–1742

Tea Caddy (lid), 1741–1742. Paul Jacques de Lamerie (British, 1688–1751). Silver gilt; overall: 13.4 x 9.6 x 5.8 cm (5 1/4 x 3 3/4 x 2 5/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Thomas S. Grasselli Memorial Collection 1943.179.b In the 1600s and 1700s, silver played a significant role in projecting wealth, status, power, and ritual in British life. Tea was likewise a highly valued commodity, and as such, silver caddies were designed to display the social distinction of its owner. The prominently sloping shoulders of this lid's accompanying canister were designed by Paul Jacques de Lamerie in the early 1730s and became a standard form for tea caddies by the end of the decade. This is the lid to a tea caddy. See cover record.