Tea Canister
1815 - 1820 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
Tea caddies were small boxes, sometimes with two or three inner compartments, used to store loose tea leaves. They were usually kept locked to protect the valuable contents. They were often highly decorative because they were placed on the table as tea was served, where they would be seen by family and guests. Being small and light, they were ideal for decoration at home. The decoration on this caddy would have taken hours of painstaking work.
Places & People
This caddy is unusual in that it is signed in embroidery and also has the name of a school. This suggests that it was decorated by a child at the school, which was probably in Long Melford, Suffolk. There was a school in the parish church at Long Melford from about 1690, and there were also several private schools in the village. Mary Skeet was second child of Samuel Skeet, who from 1823 was landlord of The Greyhound Inn at the nearby village of Lavenham.
Materials & Making
Tea caddies were ideal for decorating with rolled paperwork, but other small boxes, cabinets and screens were also used. The method was called 'filigree' at the time. The intricate patterns could be copied from published sheets, available from shops such as 'The Temple of Fancy' at 34 Rathbone Place, London. The shop also sold plain objects for decorating.
Tea caddies were small boxes, sometimes with two or three inner compartments, used to store loose tea leaves. They were usually kept locked to protect the valuable contents. They were often highly decorative because they were placed on the table as tea was served, where they would be seen by family and guests. Being small and light, they were ideal for decoration at home. The decoration on this caddy would have taken hours of painstaking work.
Places & People
This caddy is unusual in that it is signed in embroidery and also has the name of a school. This suggests that it was decorated by a child at the school, which was probably in Long Melford, Suffolk. There was a school in the parish church at Long Melford from about 1690, and there were also several private schools in the village. Mary Skeet was second child of Samuel Skeet, who from 1823 was landlord of The Greyhound Inn at the nearby village of Lavenham.
Materials & Making
Tea caddies were ideal for decorating with rolled paperwork, but other small boxes, cabinets and screens were also used. The method was called 'filigree' at the time. The intricate patterns could be copied from published sheets, available from shops such as 'The Temple of Fancy' at 34 Rathbone Place, London. The shop also sold plain objects for decorating.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
|
| Materials and techniques | Rolled paperwork, embroidery and wood |
| Brief description | Tea caddy, rolled paperwork, embroidered with 'M. Skeet, Melford School'. |
| Physical description | Hexagonal shape decorated with rolled paperwork over a wood core. Oval panels of embroidery on front and back, on the front a basket of flowers above entwined initials, on the back bearing the words 'M.SKEET Melford School' |
| Dimensions |
|
| Production type | Unique |
| Marks and inscriptions | M. SKEET Melford School |
| Gallery label | British Galleries:
Rolled paperwork was a popular amateur craft from about 1780 to 1830. Strips of coloured paper, often with gilt edges, were tightly coiled and glued to a flat surface, producing an effect similar to metal filigree. Cabinet-makers supplied plain boxes with raised edges specifically for this type of work.(27/03/2003) |
| Credit line | Given by Queen Mary |
| Object history | The paperwork and embroidery were executed by Mary Skeet (1807-1885), a pupil of Melford School, Long Melford, Suffolk, on a commercially-made frame. This tea caddy was given to the V&A in 1927 by Queen Mary, the consort of King George V (RP 3989/27); it is not clear how it came into the possession of the royal family. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | Object Type Tea caddies were small boxes, sometimes with two or three inner compartments, used to store loose tea leaves. They were usually kept locked to protect the valuable contents. They were often highly decorative because they were placed on the table as tea was served, where they would be seen by family and guests. Being small and light, they were ideal for decoration at home. The decoration on this caddy would have taken hours of painstaking work. Places & People This caddy is unusual in that it is signed in embroidery and also has the name of a school. This suggests that it was decorated by a child at the school, which was probably in Long Melford, Suffolk. There was a school in the parish church at Long Melford from about 1690, and there were also several private schools in the village. Mary Skeet was second child of Samuel Skeet, who from 1823 was landlord of The Greyhound Inn at the nearby village of Lavenham. Materials & Making Tea caddies were ideal for decorating with rolled paperwork, but other small boxes, cabinets and screens were also used. The method was called 'filigree' at the time. The intricate patterns could be copied from published sheets, available from shops such as 'The Temple of Fancy' at 34 Rathbone Place, London. The shop also sold plain objects for decorating. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | W.31:1, 2-1927 |
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| Record created | March 27, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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