LEXINGTON, KY. -- Henry Clay, who twice came in second in elections for the Presidency, is associated with the silver in Lexington again. A tea service he purportedly commissioned is displayed at the Headley-Whitney Museum through May 17.

It is one of 75 hollowware and flatware objects that form the exhibit "At Your Service: Silver in 19th Century American Life" from the Cincinnati Art Museum's silver collection.

Although the tea set commissioned by Henry Clay is a favorite with Kentuckians, this exhibition is primarily concerned with the social practices that dictated changes in style and the type of silver products in demand. The exhibit also chronicles the history of tea and coffee uses in this country and the effect of this use on silver manufacturing and the changes in the silver industry from craftsmanship to mass production.

The collection includes a variety of distinctive hollowware and flatware types including tea services, candlesticks, fish servers and flasks that are distinguished as representative of stylistic trends, examples of works by fine silversmiths, and objects of historical significance.

The objects represent most of the major stylistic trends of the NineteenthCentury: American Federal, Neoclassical, Renaissance and Rococo Revival and American Art Nouveau.

The collection contains examples of many of the century's finest silversmiths (William Heyer of New York and Charles Burnett of Virginia) and silver manufacturers (Duhme & Company of Cincinnati, Jacobi & Jenkins of Baltimore, Gorham & Company of Providence, R.I., and Tiffany & Company of New York). In addition to the set commissioned by Clay, works with particular historical significance include tea services produced by the politician Thomas Worthington.

The museum is at 4435 Old Frankfort Pike. Hours are from 10 am to 5 pm Tuesday through Friday and noon to 5 pm Saturday and Sunday. Telephone 606/255-6653.