Images(15)

Tea chest with tea canisters and sugar box

Date1755-1770

Attributed to Allgood and Company

OriginWales, Pontypool area

MediumJapanned tinned sheet iron ("Pontypool"), wood, and brass

DimensionsTea chest: OL: 10"; OW: 5 7/8"; OH(with handle): 8 1/4" Tea canisters: OH: 4 1/2"; OW: 2 5/8"; OD: 4 3/8" Sugar box: OH: 4 3/8"; OW: 2 7/8"; OD: 4 5/16"

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number1978-28,A-D

DescriptionForm: Tea chest of rectangular bombe form; lid rectangular in plan with domed center; two ornate brass escutcheons in center of lid for ornate brass bail handle; edge of lid bends to form short sides conforming to body below; narrow molding at junction with body; lid joined by two hinges at back to body; each side of body formed from one sheet of metal joined at corners to form box; keyhole cut in upper center of front panel. Lock has unusual quatrefoil barrel which fits original steel key; each panel of box shaped in bombe curve with narrow vertical extension at top and short, canted, then narrow vertical extension at bottom which forms base; feet formed by junction of panels at corners; interstices cut out and pierced to form apron of guilloche pattern; bottom panel (sheet iron) has short returns on all four sides which are attached to side panels.

Decoration: Chest covered with dark tortoiseshell ground; center of lid contains painting of small white flowers; central area surrounded by gilded border composed of foliated scrolls at corners and running dots with foliate elements in between, all in swag formation; area below border bears blue ground covered by gilded diapering; edge of lid top bordered with gilded adjacent arcs with interspersed pellets; lid sides bordered with gilded intersecting arcs with interspersed pellets, surmounted by inverted husks and fan-like stripes. Each side panel surrounded on top and sides by gilded scroll-and-dot border similar to that on lid with surrounding blue ground and gilded diapering; on front panel this blue ground and diapering is enlarged to include keyhole; central areas of panels contain depictions of fruit, including grapes, apples, raspberries, cherries and strawberries, wildflowers, with one insect painted on the front panel, right side (primary colors: deep blue/purple, white, red/pink). Border between canted and vertical areas of base decorated with gilded rope border. Apron with guilloche design originally gilded; feet decorated with gilded tendrils emerging from corners.

Interior: Wooden carcass painted red; divided into three compartments by thin, wooden partitions (center one slightly larger) for tea canisters and sugar box. Inside of lid lined with crimson velvet and decorated with fabric tape (all modern). Two tinned sheet iron tea canisters of rectangular form with soldered corners and small circular opening with bezel in center of top; domed lid fits tightly into bezel. Rectangular tinned sheet iron sugar box with soldered joints and arched lid hinged at back to box.
Label TextBrightly painted or japanned accessories became increasingly more plentiful from the mid-eighteenth century onward. Emulating more expensive enamels and the colorful glazes and decoration on stylish earthenwares and furniture, these objects were intended mainly for the middle-class market.
ProvenanceVendor: Jeremy, Ltd., London