The Garrick tea service
Tea Service
1774 - 1775 (made)
1774 - 1775 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Object Type
The vase forms and decoration of fluting, swags and wreaths show that the service was made in the most stylish Neo-classical taste. Serving tea to company during this period was an opportunity for the display of status and wealth.
People
Regarded by some of their contemporaries as social climbers, the actor David Garrick and his wife, Eva, were nevertheless part of literary, artistic and aristocratic circles where fashionable clothing and furnishing were essential to credibility.
Places
The actor David Garrick purchased a London town house in architect, Robert Adam's fashionable Adelphi development by the river at Charing Cross, finished in 1772. The tea service was purchased as part of a large order of silver of £190 from the goldsmith Henry Shepherd and may have been intended to furnish the Garrick's new home in the Adelphi.
Trading
David Garrick ordered the service through the goldsmith, Henry Shepherd, who contracted out the making of the silver to the workshop of silversmiths James Young and Orlando Jackson. The silversmithing trade relied upon a complex network of skills and it was not unusual for several specialists to co-operate to make and decorate silver to the customer's specification. A surviving bill shows that this silver cost David Garrick the large sum of £88 14s.
The vase forms and decoration of fluting, swags and wreaths show that the service was made in the most stylish Neo-classical taste. Serving tea to company during this period was an opportunity for the display of status and wealth.
People
Regarded by some of their contemporaries as social climbers, the actor David Garrick and his wife, Eva, were nevertheless part of literary, artistic and aristocratic circles where fashionable clothing and furnishing were essential to credibility.
Places
The actor David Garrick purchased a London town house in architect, Robert Adam's fashionable Adelphi development by the river at Charing Cross, finished in 1772. The tea service was purchased as part of a large order of silver of £190 from the goldsmith Henry Shepherd and may have been intended to furnish the Garrick's new home in the Adelphi.
Trading
David Garrick ordered the service through the goldsmith, Henry Shepherd, who contracted out the making of the silver to the workshop of silversmiths James Young and Orlando Jackson. The silversmithing trade relied upon a complex network of skills and it was not unusual for several specialists to co-operate to make and decorate silver to the customer's specification. A surviving bill shows that this silver cost David Garrick the large sum of £88 14s.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 10 parts.
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| Title | The Garrick tea service |
| Materials and techniques | Silver with ivory handles and chased decoration |
| Brief description | Silver service with ivory handles by James Young & Orlando Jackson; London; 1774-75 |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | Engraved with the coat of arms of David Garrick and his wife Eva Maria Veigel |
| Gallery label |
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| Credit line | Purchased with Art Fund support |
| Object history | This coffee pot is from Garrick's house in the Adelphi, the Adam terrace home which he was furnishing during 1772 and for which this service was probably intended. Made by James Young and Orlando Jackson (in partnership from 1774) in London The service remained in the possession of Mrs Garrick until her death in 1822. It was later acquired by the Solly family. It was lent to the Stratford-on-Avon Museum, and was subsequently in the United States of America. |
| Summary | Object Type The vase forms and decoration of fluting, swags and wreaths show that the service was made in the most stylish Neo-classical taste. Serving tea to company during this period was an opportunity for the display of status and wealth. People Regarded by some of their contemporaries as social climbers, the actor David Garrick and his wife, Eva, were nevertheless part of literary, artistic and aristocratic circles where fashionable clothing and furnishing were essential to credibility. Places The actor David Garrick purchased a London town house in architect, Robert Adam's fashionable Adelphi development by the river at Charing Cross, finished in 1772. The tea service was purchased as part of a large order of silver of £190 from the goldsmith Henry Shepherd and may have been intended to furnish the Garrick's new home in the Adelphi. Trading David Garrick ordered the service through the goldsmith, Henry Shepherd, who contracted out the making of the silver to the workshop of silversmiths James Young and Orlando Jackson. The silversmithing trade relied upon a complex network of skills and it was not unusual for several specialists to co-operate to make and decorate silver to the customer's specification. A surviving bill shows that this silver cost David Garrick the large sum of £88 14s. |
| Bibliographic reference | |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | M.24B-1973 |
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| Record created | January 23, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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