3-piece Chinoiserie Tea Service, 1824

This is an exquisite Georgian period silver three piece tea service decorated throughout in the Chinoiserie taste. The quality is top drawer and the detail is phenomenal. Weighing in excess of 60 troy ounces, these three piece feel hefty in the hand and were made by one of the major producers of the finest quality silver hollowware in the first half of the 19th century, John Edward Terrey. The set comprises a teapot, milk or cream jug and a sugar bowl and each piece is engraved with a crest to one side.

The teapot finial is in the form of a Chinaman sitting within the shade of a parasol and atop the handle of each piece (twice on the sugar bowl) is a languorous Chinaman amidst a profusion of flowers. The main bodies are superbly chased with four Chinese scenes - a rural scene with a bird perched on a peasant's farming implement, a thoughtful man leaning on the rail of some steps to a pagoda, a rich man smoking an opium pipe whilst shaded by his servant's parasol and a horse rider crossing a bridge. Each vignette is surrounded by flowers and scrolls and this decoration is reflected around each pedestal foot and the top of the teapot. The teapot's spout is formed as the head and neck of a mythological beast and the handle is fitted with heat insulators.

All in all a quite wonderful array of astonishingly crafted detail. The teapot has been cleaned to the interior and the cream and sugar bowls interiors bear original lemon gilding. The condition is excellent throughout with crisp detail.