Tea canister
Unknown
Category
Ceramics
Date
c. 1728
Materials
Ceramics, hard paste porcelain, enamels, gilding
Measurements
127 mm (Height)
Place of origin
Jingdezhen
Collection
Stourhead, Wiltshire
NT 730797
Summary
Tea canister and cover, hard paste porcelain painted in enamels and gilded, probably manufactured in Jingdezhen and decorated in Guangzhou, China (for the export market), Qing dynasty (1644-1911), Yongzheng reign (1722-1735), circa 1728, the only remaining piece from a tea service. Unmarked. Armorial porcelain decorated in the rouge-de-fer pattern with the arms of Hoare, a double-headed eagle, in a lozenge. The lozenge denotes the set was made for a lady, possibly Jane Benson, the widow of Henry Hoare I (1677-1725) but, more likely, for Martha Hoare (born 1708) who was the only remaining unmarried daughter at that time. This tea service is associated with another bearing the arms of Sir Richard Hoare (1709-1754) (730489) and a dinner service bearing those of Henry Hoare II, called 'the Magnificent' (1705-1785) (730545). The three sets are thought to have been commissioned to commemorate the marriage of Henry ‘the Magnificent’ to Susan Colt in 1728.
Provenance
Commissioned circa 1728. Associated with the tea service (730489) listed in the ‘Inventory of Heirlooms at Stourhead directed to be taken by the Will of the late Sir Richard Colt Hoare Bart.’, 1838, in the China Cupboard, as ‘Set of Oriental Tea China marked with the Family Crest containing 8 Tea Cups and 10 Saucers, Sugar Basin Cream pot, Stand & Cover 5 Coffee cups 4-5 saucers 2 Breakfast Cups 1 saucer & 1 Bread and Butter plate imperfect.’ Bequeathed by Sir Henry Hugh Arthur Hoare, 6th Bt (1865 – 1947), 1946.
Makers and roles
Unknown, manufacturer Unknown, decorator