silver and leather, English (London), 1670-71, maker's mark 'TL', the initials separated by a pellet, in a rectangular punch, possibly the mark of Timothy Ley (or Lee).

Tapering cylindrical silver pot with conical silver lid and a straight silver spout pointing upwards, set at 90 degrees to the leather handle. A coat of arms and inscription engraved on the side.

George Berkeley, who commissioned this teapot, was born in around 1626, the son of George, eighth Baron Berkeley. His elder brother drowned in the English channel in 1641 and so in 1658 George inherited his father's estate. His inheritance was much diminished because of the spendthrift ways of his predecessors and the impact of the Civil War and so to compensate for this, he married in 1646 Elizabeth, the wealthy daughter of John Massingberd, the treasurer of the East India Company. Berkeley made significant investments in the organisation: in 1677, his personal estate was valued at £26,000 of which £8000 comprised East India Company stock. His gift of a large silver teapot to the Company in 1670 also indicates his close links with the Company, though he did not become a member himself until 1681. George, whose career as a politician involved him greatly in trade and colonial matters, was created Viscount Dursley and first earl of Berkeley in 1679. He died in 1698 (on Berkeley, see Warmington: 2008).
The teapot was transferred from the India Museum to the South Kensington Museum (later the V&A) in 1880, but the circumstances of its removal from the East India Company are not known (see Inventory: 1880, p.81a, no. 02,641). The teapot was subsequently transferred from the Indian Section to the Metalwork Section of the Museum in 1921.

Tea and coffee were novel, fashionable and expensive beverages in mid-seventeenth-century England. Initially, the vessels used to serve them were similar in design, with a tapering cylindrical body topped by a conical lid, the straight spout set at a right angle to the handle. The handle was made of a non-conductive material such as leather, metal covered in leather, or wood. Were it not for the inscription on the side of this piece, it would be difficult to establish clearly whether it had served tea or coffee. The notably large size of this example is appropriate to a pot that was intended to serve the numerous members of the East India Company committee. The fact the pot is made of silver, rather than the cheaper pewter reserved for such vessels in public coffee houses (which also served tea), indicates not only the wealth of the person who presented it, but also reflects its use among a select group of people. (For the design and socio-historical context of vessels for tea and coffee, see Brown: 1995; Glanville: 1997, p. 67; Day: 2000; Schroder: 2009, II, pp.701-05.)

Maker's mark unidentified (not recorded in Jackson: 1989).

M.399-1921