Vintage Silver Teaware and Antique Chest-on-Chest Lead Doyle’s Upcoming Sale

Known as the English national drink, tea was once associated with the wealthy echelons of its society. Believed to have medicinal properties, the beverage was highly expensive for many years. In various classic British paintings, rich silver teaware signified a sense of exclusivity. An English tea service initially consisted of a tea pot, a sugar bowl, and a creamer jug. While the kettle and waste bowl were added much later, the coffee pots were introduced in the George III era. The upcoming Doyle auction will feature a George III sterling silver tea and coffee service (Benjamin Smith, London). It comprises two teapots, a coffee pot, cream jug, open sugar bowl, waste bowl, and a two-handled tray. Each piece has a squat globular body with reeded shoulder and is raised on artistic winged paw feet.

A Percival Family Chippendale carved cherry chest-on-chest also leads the listing. The upper case is styled with a scrolled crest ending in carved floral terminals and spiral-carved finials. Five thumb-molded short drawers, a fan-carved drawer, and four graduated long drawers constitute the top section. The lower section has three graduated drawers with a frame attached to claw-and-ball feet. Visit Doyle to view the complete catalog and register to bid in the upcoming Boston Collects sale.