Images(5)

Sugar Tongs

Dateca.1760-1770

Maker Thomas Arnold (1734 - 1828)

OriginAmerica, Rhode Island, Newport

MediumSilver

DimensionsOverall: 5 1/16"; Width across finger loops: 1 15/16"

Credit LineBequest of Joseph H. and June S. Hennage

Object number2020-306

DescriptionSugar or tea tongs of the scissor type, heavily scrolled overall, with bow-shaped finger loops, openwork arms, a four-part ovoid joint, and deeply concave shell grips.
Label TextThe sole purpose of this almost flawlessly designed device is to remove a broken lump of sugar from its designated vessel, transport it a few inches, and place it in one's cup of tea. While the earliest sugar tongs were miniature versions of the common fireplace tongs but in silver, this type incorporates a scissor-like hinge and may have been inspired by the scissor-type candle snuffer. These tongs were all the rage during the middle decades of the 18th century, and they were made by some of the most accomplished urban silversmiths in colonial America.

This example, believed to be one of the few openwork sugar tongs made in pre-Revolutionary Rhode Island, is the only piece by Thomas Arnold in Colonial Williamsburg's collection.
MarkingsStruck with "T•A" in script relief within a rectangle on the inside of each shell grip.
ProvenancePurchased from S. J. Shrubsole (New York City), April 30, 1991