Not currently on display at the V&A

Tea Urn

ca. 1790 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

A tea-urn kept the water warm. This allowed the hostess to replenish the teapot and refresh the tea leaves. The tea-urn heated by a charcoal burner appeared in the 1760s. It superseded the tea kettle and spirit burner. This was possibly because most available fuels were unpleasant to burn. Sheffield plate tea-urns did not appear until 1785.

This tea-urn makes use of a discovery patented by John Wadham in 1774. He discovered how to heat water by flowing it round a tube containing a heated bar of cast iron. This tube could be placed inside a vessel and acted almost as efficiently as an external charcoal burner. The new system made the external burner redundant, which allowed for a more elegant design.

Thomas Boulsover developed Sheffield plate in 1742. The new material consisted of fused bars of silver and copper that were rolled into sheets of laminated metal and worked like silver. The Sheffield plate industry flourished for approximately one hundred years until electroplating superseded it in the 1840s.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Urn
  • Lid
Materials and techniques
Sheffield plate, the inside tinned
Brief description
Tea urn, Sheffield plate, the inside tin, English, ca. 1790
Physical description
Vase-shaped with rising handles, the square base with pearled borders and vertical piercing, resting on four ball feet. Applied to the front is a plaque with the Royal Arms, and the inscription BY THE KING'S PATENT. The tap with ivory handle, and the top of the cover are of silvered brass. Inside the urn is a cylindrical receptacle for a heating iron.
Dimensions
  • Height: 56.3cm
  • Width: 33cm
Style
Production typeMass produced
Credit line
The Wolseley Bequest
Production
Reason For Production: Retail
Summary
A tea-urn kept the water warm. This allowed the hostess to replenish the teapot and refresh the tea leaves. The tea-urn heated by a charcoal burner appeared in the 1760s. It superseded the tea kettle and spirit burner. This was possibly because most available fuels were unpleasant to burn. Sheffield plate tea-urns did not appear until 1785.

This tea-urn makes use of a discovery patented by John Wadham in 1774. He discovered how to heat water by flowing it round a tube containing a heated bar of cast iron. This tube could be placed inside a vessel and acted almost as efficiently as an external charcoal burner. The new system made the external burner redundant, which allowed for a more elegant design.

Thomas Boulsover developed Sheffield plate in 1742. The new material consisted of fused bars of silver and copper that were rolled into sheets of laminated metal and worked like silver. The Sheffield plate industry flourished for approximately one hundred years until electroplating superseded it in the 1840s.
Collection
Accession number
M.130&A-1920

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Record createdSeptember 23, 2002
Record URL
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