A Family of Three at Tea thumbnail 1
A Family of Three at Tea thumbnail 2
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
British Galleries, Room 52b

This object consists of 3 parts, some of which may be located elsewhere.

A Family of Three at Tea

Oil Painting
ca. 1727 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Object Type
When painting 'conversation pieces' (relaxed portraits of family groups or gatherings of friends), artists were expected not only to show their sitters in fine clothes, but would also be obliged to include valuable possessions, indicating their wealth and social status.

Subjects Depicted
The painter shows a fashionable family sitting around a tea table, obviously proud of their up-to-date and valuable silver and porcelain, and also of their knowledge of the correct manner of taking tea. The tea equipage is a typical one of the first half of the 18th century. It includes a sugar dish, a tea canister, sugar tongs, a hot-water jug, a spoon boat with teaspoons, a slop bowl and a teapot with a lamp beneath it to keep the contents hot.

People
Richard Collins (active 1726-1732) was trained under the Swedish-born, London-based portrait painter Michael Dahl (born about 1659; died 1743), and worked as a portrait painter in Leicester and Lincolnshire. A painting by Collins of the same family drinking tea called The Tea Party is at Goldsmiths' Hall, London. The V&A version is attributed to Collins because it is so similar.

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Discover more about this object
read Teapots through time Tea, the world's most consumed beverage after water, has a long and global history stretching across centuries and continents. Discover some of the finest examples of the most ubiquitous of all kitchen utensils: the teapot.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 3 parts.

  • Oil Paintings
  • Frames (Furnishings)
  • Frames (Furnishings)
TitleA Family of Three at Tea (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Oil painting
Brief description
Anonymous oil painting in a carved and gilt wooden frame entitled 'A Family of Three at Tea', attributed to Richard Collins. Great Britain, ca. 1727.
Physical description
Oil painting in a carved and gilt wooden frame entitled 'A Family of Three at Tea'. They are all drinking tea from a fine tea service on the table. There is a small dog on the chair next to the mother also.
DimensionsDimensions checked: Conservation; 06/01/1999 by KD
Gallery label
British Galleries: This early 18th-century painting shows a fashionable young family taking tea. They are drinking from porcelain tea bowls imported from China or Japan. The silver tea equipment includes a teapot with a lamp beneath it to keep the tea warm.(27/03/2003)
Credit line
Given by Art Fund
Object history
Possibly painted in Leicestershire or Lincolnshire by Richard Collins (active 1726-1732)
Subjects depicted
Summary
Object Type
When painting 'conversation pieces' (relaxed portraits of family groups or gatherings of friends), artists were expected not only to show their sitters in fine clothes, but would also be obliged to include valuable possessions, indicating their wealth and social status.

Subjects Depicted
The painter shows a fashionable family sitting around a tea table, obviously proud of their up-to-date and valuable silver and porcelain, and also of their knowledge of the correct manner of taking tea. The tea equipage is a typical one of the first half of the 18th century. It includes a sugar dish, a tea canister, sugar tongs, a hot-water jug, a spoon boat with teaspoons, a slop bowl and a teapot with a lamp beneath it to keep the contents hot.

People
Richard Collins (active 1726-1732) was trained under the Swedish-born, London-based portrait painter Michael Dahl (born about 1659; died 1743), and worked as a portrait painter in Leicester and Lincolnshire. A painting by Collins of the same family drinking tea called The Tea Party is at Goldsmiths' Hall, London. The V&A version is attributed to Collins because it is so similar.
Bibliographic reference
Victoria & Albert Museum Department of Engraving, Illustration and Design & Department of Paintings Accessions 1934 London: Published under the Authority of the Board of Education, 1935
Collection
Accession number
P.9&:1-1934

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Record createdFebruary 27, 2001
Record URL
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