Tea, Chocolate and Kettle Set

1719 Tea, Chocolate and Kettle set

Tea pot. Measurements: Height tea pot: 14.8 cm, Diameter stand: 14cm. Maker’s mark: Joseph Ward; Britannia silver standard. Kettle. Measurements: Height with stand: 38.5cm. Maker’s mark: Joseph Ward. Britannia silver standard; Chocolate pot. Measurements: Height: 27 cm. Maker’s mark: Joseph Ward.  Britannia silver standard. 

This meticulously crafted silver kettle, by Joseph Ward, includes the arms of Ilbert of Ilfracombe, Devon, denoting the high social status of its original owner. Kettles became popular at the beginning of the eighteenth century; the spirit lamp in the base would have kept the water hot for topping up the tea pot.

The slab sided body and wooden handle of both the tea pot and chocolate pot are in a similar shape to the kettle above with stands as a base. Both are engraved with the arms of Ilbert of Ilfracombe, Devon, the original owner. By the eighteenth century, with the expansion of the East India Company, tea and chocolate drinking became popular past times for the leisured class.