Silver sugar tongs

Sociability at Mount Vernon

Drinking tea was an important domestic ritual in early America. Wealthy women displayed their social status by using expensive porcelain plates and cups and a sterling silver tea service. Made around 1755, these tongs are engraved with the family crest of Martha’s first husband, Daniel Parke Custis. Used in the Washington household, the object was passed down to the descendants of Eliza Parke Custis. They are often misidentified as displaying the Washington crest (which included a winged griffon) instead of the Custis crest (which included a wingless bird of prey). Image courtesy of Mount Vernon Ladies' Association.

Robert Cox

1755

eng

silver teaware