Properly serving tea and coffee in the 18th century required specialized equipment. At George Washington's request, New York merchant Daniel Parker ordered plated tea and coffee wares from England for him in 1783. The shipment included a tea (or hot-water) urn, matching coffeepot, two teapots, two waiters (or trays) and "2 Ea sugr & cream pails with Ladles & Glasses." The cream pail's raised urn-shaped body, chastely ornamented with cast bead borders and chased floral garland, exemplifies the Neoclassical taste fashionable at the Revolution's end. Its delicate piercing provides glimpses of the cobalt blue glass liner, which added visual interest to the Washingtons' tea table.