Teapoy with four oval tea caddies
The word teapoy derives from the Hindu tepai, meaning "three-legged" or "three-footed" and refers to a small table or stand on a tripod support. These were used "in drawing rooms to prevent the company rising from their seats whilst taking refreshment," according to the Regency furniture designer George Smith (act. 1804–28) in A Collection of Designs for Household Furniture and Interior Decoration (1808). However, from about 1810 on, it came to signify a chest on a stand fitted with various compartments holding removable caddies for storing tea. Here, the names of the teas are engraved in silver medallions.
Artwork Details
- Title: Teapoy with four oval tea caddies
- Date: ca. 1790
- Culture: British
- Medium: Satinwood veneer, inlaid with rosewood, holly and ebony
- Dimensions: Overall (teapoy): 27 3/4 × 23 × 17 in. (70.5 × 58.4 × 43.2 cm)
- Classification: Woodwork-Furniture
- Credit Line: Gift of Irwin Untermyer, 1964
- Object Number: 64.101.1204–.1208a, b
- Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts
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Thomas Chippendale
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Jan van Mekeren
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Multiple artists/makers
1769–71
Multiple artists/makers
1769–71
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