This tea set comprises a tray, teapot, milk jug and sugar bowl chased with historical Assyrian motifs. The tray is decorated with a rectangular cartouche of an engraved scene of figures and animals engaged in various activities. A foliate border surrounds the cartouche, with an additional frame on the tray’s edge chased with figures in various poses of everyday life amongst flora and fauna. The sugar bowl is decorated with an oval cartouche showing a scene of figures taking tea seated around a table, at the centre of which is a samovar, a tea practice adopted in Iran and influenced by the cultures of both Russia and South Asian practices. Attendants serve tea into cups from the kettle while one of the seated figures tops up his cup with water from the samovar. The inclusion of a milk jug in this set suggests it was produced for Western consumers, as milk is not customarily taken with tea in Iran.
