Teapot, Johan Schenck, Stockholm, 1707
Tea, coffee and chocolate began to be consumed during social gatherings in Sweden in the late 17th century. They had only been used for medical purposes before that.
New storage containers were needed for these new drinks. They were modelled on English silver jugs inspired by Chinese jugs for rice wine. The Lohe hoard includes a very early silver teapot made in the late Baroque style by the goldsmith Johan Schenck (who was active from 1697 to 1710) in Stockholm in 1707.
This pot has a simple shape, with an acanthus border and a spout ending in a dragon head. That said, the pot is unusually large, which may be explained by the fact that the client wished to use the pot as a financial investment and thus wanted as much silver as possible to be used in its design.
The pot was found in one of the cauldrons in which the Lohe hoard was found and contained 912 coins.
