Antique Norwegian silver-gilt & enamel tea strainer

Beautiful and elegant antique silver tea strainer inlaid with green vitreous enamel, in an Art Nouveau style. Fanned peacock panels inlaid with white enamel are set within the green enamel background on the flared rim and handle. Made in Norway during the mid 1920s, the piece is in excellent and original condition.

Loose tea is so superior to the teabag and deserving of a silver tea strainer. The pierced bowl captures the loose tea leaves as you pour tea from the teapot, and the stand catches the drips when the strainer is returned to the stand. Sit back and savour a real cup of tea.

Documentation of tea strainers appears in ancient history, but it was the arrival and rise in popularity of loose-leaf tea in 17th-century Europe when they evolved from simple pierced bowls to ornate, decorative silver tea accessories for the wealthy, with designs varying from basket-shaped to those with stands, reflecting changing fashions and the ever-increasing pleasure in the ritual of tea drinking.