Caddy spoon 1832 - 1833

This caddy spoon was crafted by John Lias, a silversmith active in London during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Silversmiths like Lias catered to the fashion for tea drinking that swept through British society. The spoon’s design speaks volumes about the rituals of consumption and class distinctions of the time. The shell-shaped bowl hints at global trade routes, bringing tea from distant lands to the tables of the British elite. At the same time it obscures the painful history of colonialism and slavery that enabled this trade. The very act of measuring tea with such an ornate tool became a performance, a way to display wealth and status. Consider for a moment the hands that once held this spoon. What stories would they tell about the role of tea in social gatherings, family traditions, and the construction of identity? This seemingly simple object becomes a lens through which to examine the complex interplay of power, taste, and the everyday lives of people.