The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 24, 2025

Tea Caddy (lid)

1741–1742
fabricated by

Paul Jacques de Lamerie

(British, 1688–1751)
England, London, 18th century
silver gilt
Overall: 13.4 x 9.6 x 5.8 cm (5 1/4 x 3 3/4 x 2 5/16 in.)
The Thomas S. Grasselli Memorial Collection 1943.179.b
Location: 203A British Painting and Decorative Arts

Did You Know?

This is the lid to a tea caddy. See cover record.

Description

In the 1600s and 1700s, silver played a significant role in projecting wealth, status, power, and ritual in British life. Tea was likewise a highly valued commodity, and as such, silver caddies were designed to display the social distinction of its owner. The prominently sloping shoulders of this lid's accompanying canister were designed by Paul Jacques de Lamerie in the early 1730s and became a standard form for tea caddies by the end of the decade.
  • ?-1943
    Mrs. Thomas S. [Emilie Schmidt] Grasselli [1877-1953], Shaker Heights, OH
    1943-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 152 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 152 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 192 archive.org
  • British Gallery Reinstallation (June 2020). The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).
    Three Centuries of English Silver. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA (organizer) (September 29-November 12, 1950).
  • {{cite web|title=Tea Caddy (lid)|url=false|author=Paul Jacques de Lamerie|year=1741–1742|access-date=24 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1943.179.b