Lot 260
A scarce George III tea urn
Auction: 19 August 2013 at 15:00 BST
Description
William Dempster, Edinburgh 1762, the tapered ovoid body with acanthus and domed border, twin loop handle with foliate terminals and ivory grips, straight reeded spout with simple ivory spigot handle, all raised on a short flared trumpet stem with gadrooned rim above a domed square base, pierced rim and raised on four claw and ball feet, the pull-off cover with wrythen knop and pineapple finial
Dimensions
51cm high, 84oz
Footnote
Notes:
This tea urn would have represented amongst the larger commissions from a mid-18th century Edinburgh goldsmiths. Weighing 84oz it is far heavier than the fashionable ovoid coffee urn which it would have sat beside. At this time coming towards the end of ovoid coffee urns as a popular piece of Scottish plate, this urn is the beginning of the new fashion of hot water urns / samovars as part of the highly fashionable tea equipage, and would have represented a very high status piece of plate for any family. An obvious extravagance as part of a tea set, these urns would have been commissioned in very small numbers relative to the number of tea services produced.
This example appears to be one of the earliest examples of such an urn in Scottish silver, the closest example is by Patrick Robertson of Edinburgh in 1770.