Tea Room

From Thomas Jefferson Encyclopedia

Dimensions: 15' 1"x 11' 2"; ceiling 17' 11" (shown on left; Dining Room is right)

Order: Doric

Source: A building in Albano, Italy, depicted in Fréart, Parallèle de l'Architecture Antique avec la Moderne

Color: Unpainted plaster; today the room is painted to replicate a plaster finish

Purpose of Room: Dining area; reading and writing area for Jefferson

Architectural features: double pocket doors on rollers separate the western-most, and coldest, Tea Room from the Dining Room; based on one of Jefferson's favorite architectural shapes, the octagon

Furnishings of Note: Jefferson referred to the room as his "most honorable suite" because in it he displayed many likenesses of his friends and American heroes, including busts of Benjamin Franklin, John Paul Jones, Marquis de Lafayette, and Washington; the room had a reading and writing arrangement perhaps similar to the one Jefferson kept in his Cabinet; at one time the room had a stove in a semi-circular niche in wall.

Objects on Display in this Room

• Benjamin Franklin Bust by Houdon (Sculpture)
• Benjamin Smith Barton (Physiognotrace)
• Brescia Marble Table
• Dumbwaiters
• George Washington Bust by Houdon (Sculpture)
• Henry Dearborn (Physiognotrace)
• Jefferson Oval Portrait by Memin (Physiognotrace)
• John Paul Jones Bust (Sculpture)
• Dickerson, Mahlon (Physiognotrace)
• Marquis de Lafayette Bust (Sculpture)
• Shield Back Side Chair
• Table Forks by Anthiaume
• Table Forks by Sommé
• Tablespoons by Anthiaume