Silver tea service

Chaudron & Rasch, Philadelphia

1809-1812

Jean Simon Chaudron was born in France (1758-1846), went to Saint Domingue (Haiti) in 1784, and moved to Philadephia in 1793, probably to escape the effects of the slave rebellion. Anthony Rasch (ca. 1778-1859), born in Bavaria and trained as a silversmith in Germany, was first his indentured servant, then partner from 1804 to 1812. This tea service represents the vanguard of American neoclassicim at the time it was made. The sugar urn, with its tripod legs and cloven feet, makes allusion to antique forms based on contemporary archealogical discoveries.