Strainer 1767 - 1777

This is a silver strainer made by Benjamin Burt, a silversmith working in Boston, Massachusetts, around the latter half of the 18th century. Take a moment to consider how the strainer makes meaning through its design and material. In the 1700s, silver was a valuable commodity associated with wealth and status. The strainer's refined design, with its delicate piercings and ornate handles, speaks to the rituals of tea consumption and the associated displays of social standing in colonial America. As tea drinking became increasingly fashionable, specialized utensils like this strainer became essential components of genteel life. Through studying merchant account books and historical records, we can understand the place of objects like this in the colonial economy. This strainer serves not only a functional purpose, but also reveals social aspirations, transatlantic trade networks, and the emerging material culture of colonial America.