so we have spoken about tea caddies and caddy spoons all related to the event of tea and now for a rare spoon that was used once again by the elite so that their cup of tea was clear and clean.
as seen the bowl has a fancy pierced pattern that allows the lady of the house to remove all the floating tea leaves from the cup, as loose tea was the fashion.
this spoon is made in one peice with a rail tail half way up the back of the spoon and the narrow handle ending in a sharp point and this allows the lady to clear the leaves that blocked the spout of the teapot.
They were made early mid 1700 by the english and americans.the earlier spoons as the one pictured above are rare with two initials on the reverse of the bowl.Later models were fully hallmarked.
as we see that low tea(english) was quite an affair which royalty loved to attend---and at this point we can then go on about tea cups tea pots.(next blog) and the etiquette of hoasting a tea party.so here is a link that is very detailed of how to hoast a victorian tea...with the correct manners as well.....obviously they had disposable time and had lots of fun....http://www.tea-business-guide.com/tea_curriculum.html

darjeeling tea is a must darling!!
so we have spoken about tea caddies and here i have shown the essentials for the measuring of the then very expensive tea of the 18th century.
the short squat caddy spoon an essential item in fashionable homes of the 18th century measured delicately the amount of tea required.these spoons were locked away in the tea caddy remembering that tea was very expensive and to keep the household from taking their share.
these spoons are highly collectible today as some wonderful examples are featured in museums around the world and of course in private collections.a collector would hunt high and low to find an example to fit into their collection and will pay a commanding price to own yet another one.
as time went by and the new century arrived tea became afforable to all and the silversmiths went into overdrive and produced a huge range of designs also in various metals.
tea is an amazing commodity and not only from china.i would like to take you to the exoctic country of india..so a lot more information on the art of drinking tea and some of the best tea on the market today...more info here....http://www.darjeelingtea.com/home.asp
The spoons featured above from left to right...
1.english hallmarked silver sheffield 1901
2.norwegian hallmarked silver with fancy fret work
3.english hallmarked birmingham 1942(notice rat tail design)
4.norwegian silver hallmarked with a fig of a man with outstretched arms holding a wreath
5.english georgian hallmarked silver london 1790 plain simple form

i am always amazed at the varieties of teas available today whereas 100 years ago it was a precious and expensive commodity which had to be under lock and key.
speaking about "precious" hello P and thanks for the idea for this blog entry...so i went to my back cupboard and searched for the tortoise shell tea caddy inlaid with silver and mother of pearl and here it is pictured.I purchased this one from a private household and have just loved it ever since...the nicest one in my collection.
what sort of tea do i drink,rather a green tea or when i visit a friend it will be darjeeling and here i must mention all the better in a tea cup and made in a teapot this is the only way to make a stunning cup of tea.
Do i have a tea caddy full of tea...yes...a clear glass with an air tight top...sad to say as my caddies are part of a collection and will be sold someday so i rather take great care of them.
there is much to say about tea and its related objects so i thought a good idea to give u an amazing link to tea caddies here

I have noticed from the visits on the blog that there are many visiting the blue and white discussions so therefore another one showing early 15thc and onwards drug jars.These were made in various forms,sizes and shapes,the one shown above is an early English delft wet drug jar with the named drug and u will notice the spout,hence wet drug jar.
The early drug jars did not have lids but rather a piece of leather that covered with a string for a tie.
These jars are rather rare due to the great fire of London which destroyed much of London...history click here...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Fire_of_London
It is not sure the true origin of these jars but it is thought to be arabic.The earlier ones are unnamed but as the popularity grew the factories then added the drug names and elaborate decoration which gave great appeal to the visual look of the drug store.
Jars were made to hold dry and wet drugs so that it made it easier for the merchant to access them.
As years went by new materials were used,glass,tin,porcelain with todays replicas made in mixed material.Collectors of these items must be sure of their knowledge as there are so many reprodutions on the market and are worth a fraction of the price of an antique item.If you find one with a lid then you will know that it is a later model or perhaps someone had a lid made as they did with pewter even adding a ringed pewter base,so one needs to know the colors at the time and also knowledge of the paste used for early drug jars.Books are available but rather expensive...there are a couple on amazon,as they are out of print.
These jars feature in many museums and private collections around the world...so here is a link to detailed listing....http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articl ... id=1436803

well after a weekend of finals in sport, snooker,tennis,formula one
and the rugby ( hello guys south africa won)..so what do we find here today is a stunning oil on canvas by the well known British artist Victor Elford and it is now in the shop under european art,have a peek.
Victor elford was born in Plymouth of an old Devonshire family,his early life was spent amoung the Chiltern Hills where his love of landscape painting was obviously influenced by the beautiful woodland scenery that surrounded him.
Elford was an interior decorator and furniture designer and had ample opportunity to incorporate murals into his schemes and designs.His art is entirely self taught and had painted many murals for big passenger liners...So i guess by now they would have scuttled many of them and one wonders what happened to his art.
He has also held many one man exhibitions and today his art is well sought after.
During the second world war while serving his country his ship was bombed and sunk in the Atlantic.He landed up in West Africa where he was tremendously impressed by the great beauty that surrounded him.
He firmly believes ,however,that all worthwhile art incorporates beauty of line and crafmanship and should convey all the influences on the subject of the primary elements of nature.
So i guess this peaceful painting is just that,that he describes.
The scene painted here was done in ...The Tamar at Cotehele.

with the weekend a few days away and some more tennis in Basel i will be watching and supporting that dishy Roger Federer and hoping he is back on form...well what can one really say about this giant which has not been said already.

For some time i have wanted to talk about blue and white wares and their importance in the collecting field as they seem to be once again highly collectible.
Actually blue and white wares have alwys been extremely popular and collectible so anyone putting a good collection together will never look back as the collection will certainly grow in value and also derive great pleasure from the large variety of patterns that were produced by the many companies in 1740 to 1850 and later.
The one i would like to bring to your attention is the famous factory of Josiah Wedgwood who started working in a factory at the young age of 11 years old and later left to go and live with a wealthy and respectable tailor, a Mr Daniel Mayer.About this time aged 23 he entered into a partnership short lived but a few years later he worked for the highly talented Thomas Wieldon,some of the finest Staffordshire pottery manufactured in the mid-eighteenth century,then entering a partnership with Wieldon for a period of five years. Wedgwood was at this age an important potter in Staffordshire.
Wedgwood foresaw the coming of industrailization and set about experimenting with new clays and techniques as their main prodution was no longer that desirable and there was a large drop in sales.
About this time Wedgwood had decided to enter into a partnership with his cousin Thomas Wedgwood but still keeping a good relationship with Wieldon and yet engaging another superb modeller Mr.Greatbatch.
It was in 1774 that Wedgwood wrote."From several late series of experiments i have no reason to doubt being able to give a fine white composition any tint of fine blue."From these experiments he was able to create the now famous...Wedgwood cameos and intaglio items that we all know and recognise today and some of his best work.
Trying to do justice to this wonderful creator of fine porcelain and potter i will have to give u a link that tells the full story to this great factory.This link is an excellent one providing all the marks and other revelant links to a great factory.
Josiah Wedgwood link ..here http://www.thepotteries.org/potters/wedgwood.htm