Tea Service
Maker
Isaac Hutton
(American, 1767 - 1855)
Date1800-1817
MediumSilver, wood
DimensionsOverall: 7 1/2 × 12 1/2 × 5in. (19.1 × 31.8 × 12.7cm)
ClassificationsCULINARY ARTIFACTS
Credit LineMuseum Purchase with funds from the Sarah T. Norris Fund
Terms
Object number73.18.1-4
On View
Not on viewCollections
Copyright<a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc/4.0/80x15.png" /></a><br />This work is licensed under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License</a>.
Label TextIn the 1800s afternoon entertainment at home became quite common, especially among middle-class women. Most of these events centered on the tea table, and considerable effort and expense were directed toward the acquisition of an extensive matched tea service. No longer acquired a piece or two at a time, beverage services were often sold en suite, all pieces having similar bodies, handles, finials, and decorative bands.
As Albany, New York, prospered in the post-Revolutionary War era, it became home to a number of enterprising silversmith workshops. Outstanding among the numerous examples of New York-made silver in the Museum’s collection is this four-piece tea service attributed to Albany craftsman Isaac Hutton. The service employs the urn form and the ornamental vocabulary popular in the earliest phase of the revival of classical taste in the United States.
