Tea Bag Holder

A tea bag holder suspended over a small silver bowl, fitted with a rosewood handle: this is the kind of specialized table object Spratling designed to round out his services. The holder and its catch-bowl work as a pair, the rosewood handle tying it to the wider line.

The wood-and-silver pairing carries through even on a minor functional piece, the dark handle set against the bright metal in the manner of Spratling's larger hollowware. Such purpose-built accessories show how completely he conceived his table services.

Specialized accessories of this kind, made to accompany a tea service, surface far less often than the central serving pieces.