Tea-caddy
Hendrik Voet
(Dutch, 1654–1737)
about 1700
Object PlaceParis, France
Medium/TechniqueTortoiseshell, with silver inlay, silver mounts; wooden core and inset base
Dimensions10.7 x 7.4 x 4.7 cm (4 3/16 x 2 15/16 x 1 7/8 in.)
Credit LineElizabeth Parke Firestone and Harvey S. Firestone, Jr. Collection
Accession number1993.452a-b
On View
On viewClassificationsSilver
Collections
This container, with its tightly fitting lid, would have been used to keep tea leaves fresh. It combines two different materials. The interior of the caddy is made of tortoiseshell, possibly acquired in Dutch overseas colonies in southeast Asia. After the tortoiseshell arrived in the Netherlands, a Zwolle-based silversmith named Hendrik Voet added a thin silver engraving, which he laid on the surface, connected to the underlying material with small pins. The play between the bright, reflective silver and the translucent tortoiseshell is striking.
ProvenanceMay 5, 1960, sold by S. J. Phillips, London (dealer) to Elizabeth Parke Firestone (b. 1897 - d. 1990) and Harvey S. Firestone, Jr. (b. 1898 - d. 1973), Akron, OH and Newport, RI; 1993; gift of the estate of Elizabeth Parke Firestone and Harvey S. Firestone, Jr., to the MFA. (Accession Date: May 26, 1993)
about 1760–80
18th–19th century
early 17th century
about 1930
third quarter of 12th century
second or third quarter of the 14th century (?)
about 1500–25, with later alterations
1756–62
1717–22
1717–22