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Tea canister: C.404-1928

An image of Tea canister

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Object information

Current Location: In storage

Maker(s)

Pottery: Unknown

Entities

Categories

Description

Red earthenware with decoration in white slip under yellowish lead-glaze. Inscribed on the front 'Best Boe Tea', and on the back ‘THOS. KIDMAN/1774’

Notes

History note: Mr C.H. Waters (Watern?) of Napton, near Rugby, from whom purchased for £10.10s. on 4 August 1918.

Legal notes

Dr J.W.L. Glaisher Bequest

Measurements and weight

Height: 27/7 cm

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1928) by Glaisher, J. W. L., Dr

Dating

18th Century, third quarter
George III
Production date: dated AD 1774

Note

Boe is short for Bohea (pronounced bu-ee or wu-ee), a black Chinese tea which was very popular in Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries.

School or Style

Country Pottery

Components of the work

Decoration composed of slip ( cream)
Visible Surface composed of lead-glaze ( yellowish)
Visible Surfaces

Materials used in production

red Earthenware

Techniques used in production

Throwing

Inscription or legends present

  • Text: Best Boe Tea
  • Location: On front
  • Method of creation: Incised through white slip
  • Type: Inscription
  • Text: THOS. KIDMAN/1774
  • Location: On back of jar
  • Method of creation: Slip-trailed in white slip
  • Type: Inscription

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: C.404-1928
Primary reference Number: 74939
Old object number: 4367
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Saturday 6 August 2011 Updated: Tuesday 30 April 2024 Last processed: Tuesday 15 July 2025

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2025) "Tea canister" Web page available at: https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/74939 Accessed: 2025-12-05 10:52:39

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{{cite web|url=https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/id/object/74939 |title=Tea canister |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2025-12-05 10:52:39|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

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