Monteith, 1688
John Ruslen
London, England
Silver with flat-chased decoration
Lent by a private collection
Two-Handled Tea Bowl, 16801700
London, England
Tin-glazed earthenware
Lent by a private collection
Porringer, 16801690
London, England
Tin-glazed earthenware
Lent by the Chipstone Foundation 1993.4
Chinoiserie decoration appeared on all sorts of late seventeenth-century eating and drinking vessels. The two-handled bowl seen here was used to drink tea, a precious imported commodity whose foreign origins were emphasized by the cups blue-and-white "Chinese Figure" motif. Wine and punch also were served in private parlors and chambers, many of which featured Chinoiserie panels on the walls. Similar exotic ornament appears in reduced form on the panels of this silver English monteith.