Tea Cosy
ca. 1860 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This tea cosy decorated with glass beads is a typical example of mid-19th-century amateur embroidery. The design of roses and lilies on a bright blue ground is characteristic of popular floral design in the 1850s and early 1860s. The cosy would have been kept for special occasions and used with the 'best' silver or porcelain tea pot when entertaining important visitors for afternoon tea.
Beads were popular for all forms of Victorian embroidered decoration on dress and for a wide range of domestic items in middle-class homes, such as upholstery, cushions, bell-pulls and fire screens. The glass industries of Germany and Italy produced and exported vast numbers of glass beads for this use in a wide variety of colours. The beads used in this example were known as 'pound' beads as they were purchased by weight. This tea cosy is decorated with two popular types: those in bright opaque colours and others in translucent clear shades.
Beads were popular for all forms of Victorian embroidered decoration on dress and for a wide range of domestic items in middle-class homes, such as upholstery, cushions, bell-pulls and fire screens. The glass industries of Germany and Italy produced and exported vast numbers of glass beads for this use in a wide variety of colours. The beads used in this example were known as 'pound' beads as they were purchased by weight. This tea cosy is decorated with two popular types: those in bright opaque colours and others in translucent clear shades.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Embroidered glass beads on linen canvas, lined with silk |
| Brief description | Beadwork tea cosy of glass beads on a linen ground, probably made in England, ca. 1860 |
| Physical description | Beadwork tea cosy of glass beads on a linen ground, and lined with yellow quilted silk. With a design of large lilies and roses on a blue ground. Edged with yellow and black twisted silk braid cord and decorated with four tassels in yellow and black silk and glass beads. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label | British Galleries:
This tea cosy would have been made from a kit or perhaps from a pattern in a ladies' magazine. It would not have been used in fashionable homes, as it was advised that a tea cosy 'should never be seen in a lady's drawing room'. Instead, tea cosies became popular in more modest homes.(27/03/2003) |
| Credit line | Given by Mrs M. O'Meara |
| Object history | Probably embroidered in England |
| Summary | This tea cosy decorated with glass beads is a typical example of mid-19th-century amateur embroidery. The design of roses and lilies on a bright blue ground is characteristic of popular floral design in the 1850s and early 1860s. The cosy would have been kept for special occasions and used with the 'best' silver or porcelain tea pot when entertaining important visitors for afternoon tea. Beads were popular for all forms of Victorian embroidered decoration on dress and for a wide range of domestic items in middle-class homes, such as upholstery, cushions, bell-pulls and fire screens. The glass industries of Germany and Italy produced and exported vast numbers of glass beads for this use in a wide variety of colours. The beads used in this example were known as 'pound' beads as they were purchased by weight. This tea cosy is decorated with two popular types: those in bright opaque colours and others in translucent clear shades. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | CIRC.177-1963 |
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| Record created | March 27, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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