Lesson Plans
Unit Introduction

Image 19:

Jacob Hurd
American, d. 1758
Teapot, ca. 1740
Silver with wood handle
97.6.3

Historic Deerfield Inc., Deerfield, Massachusetts
Gift of Janette F. Weber in memory of her husband, Frederick C. Weber, Jr., M.D.

Image 21:

Nathaniel Hurd
American, 1729/30-1777
Teapot
Silver
60.1045

Courtesy, Winterthur Museum

Image 22:

Nathaniel Hurd
American, 1729/30-1777
Cream Pail
Silver

Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, Massachusetts, Museum Purchase, 1936.51

Information:
Quite often in colonial Boston, wealthy families would melt down silver coins to make household objects, such as this teapot and cream pail. The logic in doing this was to protect their money. There were no banks for people to safeguard their money in and silver coins were easy to steal and hard to trace. Silver objects decorated with the family's coat of arms (visible on this teapot) were easily identifiable and therefore less likely to be stolen. In addition, after silver was cast into objects it maintained the same value it had in coin form. Therefore silver objects such as spoons and teapots could also be used as a form of currency.

Many of the silver objects made in colonial Boston pertained to tea. Although colonials made teapots out of silver for the practical purpose of protecting their money, the value of the material used to cast the objects also expressed the social importance of tea in colonial America. Because of the high cost of tea and all the necessary accessories, the ritual of tea became a sign of social status. Silver tea sets were valuable because of their precious material, as well as their social significance.

Before the American Revolution, the fashions in colonial America were largely based on the fashions in England. The popularity of drinking tea in England influenced the trend in America. Due to the Townshend Acts, the duties on tea caused the beverage to become politically charged. After the Boston Tea Party, many upper class families stopped drinking tea as a symbol of political protest and consequently, the demand for silver teapots dropped drastically.

Vocabulary:

coat of arms — a decorative symbol that represents a family line. cast to form hot metal into a particular shape by pouring into a mold.

currency — the money in circulation in any country.

Townshend Acts — (1767) laws passed by Parliament that taxed goods such as glass, paper, silk, lead, and tea in the American colonies.

Suggested Lesson:

Colonial Silver and Tea: Items of significance, yesterday and today