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Tea
Caddy 1725-40
Canisters for storing dry
tea leaves, now called tea caddies, were fashionable accessories for the tea
table. Popular in
England, where they
were often made in sets of three, they are rare in American silver. This early
octagonal example with pull-off cover is engraved with the arms and crest of the
Bayard family of New York. The initials M+V+D are inscribed on its underside,
probably for Margaret Van Dam (b. 1720), the daughter of Judith Bayard and Rip
Van Dam, Jr. It originally belonged to a set consisting of two tea canisters and
a larger one for sugar. The Bayard arms appear on a number of important pieces
of American silver, for example a magnificent two-handled cup and cover now
belonging to the Yale University Art Gallery.
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