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Tea Caddies For Sale
Turn of the Century French Steel and Brass Coffee Bean Dispenser, circa 1900
Located in Atlanta, GA
A French 1900s steel and brass coffee bean dispenser from the Turn of the Century. This French Turn of the Century coffee bean dispenser, crafted fro...
Category
Early 20th Century French Tea Caddies
Materials
Brass, Steel
Regency Tortoiseshell and Mother of Pearl Serpentine Tea Caddy
Located in Northampton, GB
Featuring Alternating Panels
From our Tea Caddy collection, we are delighted to offer this fine Regency Tortoiseshell and Mother of Pearl Serpentine Tea Caddy. The Tea Caddy of rect...
Category
Early 19th Century English Regency Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Tortoise Shell, Mother-of-Pearl
Regency Chinoiserie Penwork Tea Chest
Located in Northampton, GB
From our Tea Caddy collection, we are delighted to offer this Regency Chinoiserie Penwork Tea Chest. The Tea Chest of rectangular form sits upon four brass ball feet with matching br...
Category
Early 19th Century English Regency Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Sycamore
A harewood marquetry tea caddy with Royal Provenance
Located in Lymington, Hampshire
A harewood marquetry tea caddy with Royal Provenance, of oval form with a hinged lid opening to reveal two zinc lined compartments, decorated in fruitwood and boxwood marquetry with ...
Category
1790s English Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Hardwood
1980s Vintage Fitz and Floyd Rain Forest Majolica Monkey Ceramic Teapot
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Vintage Fitz and Floyd Rain Forest Monkey Majolica ceramic Teapot.
Vintage Majolica Monkey Fitz and Floyd 1980s Rain Forest Teapot.
Designed as ...
Category
Late 20th Century Japanese Victorian Tea Caddies
Materials
Ceramic
Antique George III Quality Rosewood and Brass Tea Caddy
Located in Suffolk, GB
Antique George III quality rosewood and brass tea caddy having a quality George III rosewood tea caddy with original brass mounts, handle and key openi...
Category
Early 1800s English George III Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Brass, Other
Georgian Mahogany & Inlaid Tea Caddy
Located in Bedfordshire, GB
A very attractive and good quality late 18th century Georgian mahogany oblong tea caddy, retaining good colour and patina, having attractive inlaid decoration to front and hinged lid...
Category
Late 18th Century English Georgian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Mahogany
Georgian 18th Century Mahogany Tea Caddy
Located in Bedfordshire, GB
A Very Good Quality 18th century Georgian, Chippendale Period, Mahogany Tea Caddy Of Rectangular Form, Having Elegant Shaped Top Enclosing Original Tin Containers, Retaining Original...
Category
Mid-18th Century English Georgian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Mahogany
Antique Victorian quality silver plated tea caddy
Located in Ipswich, GB
Antique Victorian quality silver plated tea caddy having a quality reeded lid, lions head ring handles to both sides, reeded decoration round the body having the original key with wo...
Category
Early 19th Century Victorian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Silver Plate
English Tortoiseshell Tea Caddy
Located in Dallas, TX
A lovely bow front tortoiseshell tea caddy inlaid with mother of pearl flowers and topped with a silver badge. English, circa 1870.
Category
1870s English Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Silver
Rare Quatrefoil Chinese Export Tea Caddy, 19th Century
Located in Charlottesville, VA
Rare quatrefoil Chinese Export Tea Caddy, 19th Century, the lacquer tea caddy with interlocking circles design, in deep red, black, and gilt with internal pewter container...
Category
19th Century Chinese Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Lacquer
Exceptional Tunbridge Ware Double Compartment Tea Caddy with Rare Image of Pensh
Located in Tunbridge Wells, GB
Heading : Exceptional Tunbridge ware sarcophagus double comparment & tea bowl caddy
Date : c1865
Period : Victoria
Origin : Tunbridge Wells, Kent
Decoration : Pillow topped cover. Th...
Category
1860s British Victorian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Wood
Handmade Victorian Burr Walnut & Inlay Tea Caddy With Brass Hinges
Located in High Wycombe, GB
A Handmade Victorian Burr Walnut & Inlay Tea Caddy With Brass Hinges
A tea caddy is a box, jar, canister, or other receptacle used to store tea. When first introduced to Europe from Asia, tea was extremely expensive, and kept under lock and key. The containers used were often expensive and decorative, to fit in with the rest of a drawing-room or other reception room. Hot water was carried up from the kitchen, and the tea made...
Category
19th Century British Victorian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Brass, Zinc
Antique George III quality mahogany tea caddy
Located in Ipswich, GB
Antique George III quality mahogany tea caddy having a quality antique George III mahogany and satinwood inlaid stringing tea caddy with a lift up lid opening to reveal the original ...
Category
19th Century George III Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Mahogany
Fantastic quality antique regency coromandel wood tea caddy
Located in Ipswich, GB
Fantastic quality antique regency coromandel wood tea caddy having a quality coromandel wood tea caddy with ringlet carrying handles to both sides and a lift up top opening to reveal...
Category
Early 19th Century Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Wood
Boulle marquetry tea box, Napoléon III period, late 19th century signed Vervelle
Located in GRENOBLE, FR
Beautiful Boulle marquetry and blackened wood tea box / tea caddy, brass pattern inlaid, mahogany veneer inside. Mid 19th century circa 1840 - 1850, typic...
Category
Mid-19th Century French Napoleon III Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Brass
Vintage Jasperware Christmas Mugs by Wedgwood Set of 4 circa 1970's
By Wedgwood
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Vintage Jasperware Christmas Mugs by WEDGWOOD Set of 4 circa 1970's, Made in England.
Lovely raised applied white jasper design detailing mugs featuring British monuments, Christmas mug from 1972 to 1975.
Vintage collectable 1970's Wedgwood of England pale blue Jasperware mugs...
Category
Late 20th Century English Late Victorian Tea Caddies
Materials
Porcelain
Georgian 18th Century Rosewood Square Tea Caddy
Located in Bedfordshire, GB
An attractive and well figured, late 18th century
Square rosewood tea caddy having boxwood
Stringing and key escutcheon with original brass
Hinges to...
Category
Late 18th Century English Georgian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Rosewood
A Handmade Victorian Fruitwood & Inlay Tea Caddy
Located in High Wycombe, GB
A Handmade Victorian Fruitwood & Inlay Tea Caddy With Zinc Lining
A tea caddy is a box, jar, canister, or other receptacle used to store tea. When first introduced to Europe from Asia, tea was extremely expensive, and kept under lock and key. The containers used were often expensive and decorative, to fit in with the rest of a drawing-room or other reception room. Hot water was carried up from the kitchen, and the tea made...
Category
19th Century British Victorian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Zinc
Tunbridge Ware Two Compartment Sarcophagus Tea Caddy c1860
Located in Tunbridge Wells, GB
Heading : Tunbridge ware sarcophagus tea caddy
Date : c1860
Period : Victoria
Origin : Tunbridge Wells, Kent
Decoration : Central floral mosaic bordered by a geometric pattern within...
Category
1860s British Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Wood
Georgian Octagonal Inlaid Tea Caddy
Located in Greenwich, CT
Fine George III octagonal tea caddy inlaid with various woods on a harewood ground, the central panels veneered with coucous wood and banded by holly stringing around a kingwood band, vines and berried...
Category
1780s English George III Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Ebony, Kingwood, Harewood, Holly, Burl
Vintage 1940s Spanish Silver Fish Sugar Box
Located in Jesmond, Newcastle Upon Tyne
A magnificent, fine and impressive, large vintage Spanish silver sugar box realistically modelled in the form of a fish; an addition to our animal related silverware collection
This...
Category
1940s Spanish Vintage Tea Caddies
Materials
Silver
Chinese Large Mother of Pearl Mounted Armorial Tea Caddy for MacPherson
Located in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire
A rare, incredible and large antique Chinese carved mother of pearl mounted tea caddy with armorial for MacPherson and dating from circa...
Category
1770s Chinese Qing Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Mother-of-Pearl
Antique 19th century 800. German silver small oval Tea Caddy with Hanau marks
Located in Braintree, GB
Antique 19th century 800. German silver small oval Tea Caddy with Hanau marks.
Maker: Unidentified
Made in Germany, 19th Century
Tested positive for 800. silver.
The tea caddy i...
Category
Early 19th Century German Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Silver
Eridge Castle Tunbridge Ware Tea Caddy c1860
Located in Tunbridge Wells, GB
Heading : Two compartment Tunbridge ware tea caddy
Date : c1860
Period : Victoria
Origin : Tunbridge Wells, Kent
Decoration : The cover decorated with Hollamby's version of Eridge Ca...
Category
1860s British Victorian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Wood
19th Century English Regency Boulle Tea Caddie
Located in Scottsdale, AZ
19th Century English Regency Boulle Tea Caddie. Very handsome and in beautiful shape.
Category
Mid-19th Century English Regency Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Hardwood
American Treen Apple Motif Tea Caddy, 1900s
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
American Treen Apple Motif Tea Caddy, 1900s
American Treen apple motif tea caddy dating circa early 20th Century, a delightful testament to the artistry of its time. Meticulously ca...
Category
Early 20th Century American Tea Caddies
Materials
Wood
19TH Century Dutch Silver Tea Caddy
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
Fashioned with an exuberance. Finely fashioned with superbly detailed
repouse' figures all around. An excellent example
Category
19th Century Dutch Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Silver
English Georgian Burl Yew Double Tea Caddy with Line Inlay and Crossbanding
Located in Wells, ME
English Georgian burl yew coffered top double tea caddy. The burl yew is accented with delicate line inlay in satinwood and with kingwood crossbanding. When open the two lidded ...
Category
Late 18th Century English George III Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Kingwood, Satinwood, Yew, Burl
Georigan Cherry Wood Tea Vessel
Located in Vienna, AT
A wonderful tea vessel made out of cherry wood in Vienna in about 1830-1850. Beautifully decorated by a silver plated application of a house and a landscape (some brassing).
Category
Mid-19th Century Austrian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Silver
Tortoiseshell Tea Caddy With Sunburst Design
Located in Dallas, TX
Circa 1870, English tortoiseshell tea caddy with sunburst design. It is absolutely the finest one I’ve ever owned! No cracks no restoration absolutely mint.
Category
1870s English Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Tortoise Shell
Large Double Tea Caddy in Mahogany, Satinwood Stringing
Located in Port Chester, NY
An early double tea caddy with satinwood inlay around the top and brass lions head handles on either side. The two interior tea compartments and the glass insert are all in good ant...
Category
Late 18th Century English Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Brass
Victorian Rosewood Inlaid Marquetry Tea Caddy
Located in Chelmsford, Essex
For sale is this 19th Century Victorian antique rosewood inlaid marquetry tea caddy sarcophagus-form box, in good condition with marquetry to the top and front with brass star carryi...
Category
Mid-19th Century Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Rosewood
Ying Mee & Co., Antique Chinese Lacquer Tea Caddy or Box
Located in Atlanta, GA
Chinese, early 20th century.
An antique red lacquer box with gilt decorated chickens, Chinese lettering and other symbols. Marked to box with maker.
Category
Early 20th Century Chinese Tea Caddies
Materials
Wood, Lacquer
Early 19th Century English George III Tea Caddy with Shell Inlay
Located in Atlanta, GA
Early 19th Century English George III Tea Caddy with Shell Inlay
Category
19th Century English George III Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Wood
Early 19th century Regency mahogany tea caddy
Located in Debenham, Suffolk
Early 19th century Regency mahogany tea caddy circa 1820.
Made using flame mahogany veneers. Brass handles with star motif to the sides. Canted corners strung with satinwood. Sta...
Category
Early 19th Century English Regency Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Mahogany
19th Century English Sheffield Silver Plate / Oak Tea Caddy
By Sheffield
Located in Tarry Town, NY
Indulge in the timeless elegance of this 19th Century English Sheffield Silver Plate Tea Caddy, expertly framed with rich oak. This tea caddy represents a harmonious fusion of functi...
Category
Late 19th Century English Late Victorian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Silver Plate
Georgian Satinwood Tea Chest with Secret Compartments
Located in Northampton, GB
Georgian Tea Chest with Boxwood & Ebony Checkered Stringing
From our Tea Caddy collection, we are delighted to offer this Rare Georgian Satinwood Tea Chest. The Tea Chest of rectang...
Category
Late 18th Century British Georgian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Silver
A Hand Painted Apple Shaped Tea Caddy
Located in High Wycombe, GB
A 20th Century Hand Painted Hinged Lidded Tea Caddy In The Shape Of An Apple With A Metal Patinated Stalk
Category
19th Century British Regency Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Wood
Antique Sarcophagus Tea Caddy, English, Box, Glass Mixer, Regency, Circa 1820
Located in Hele, Devon, GB
This is an antique sarcophagus tea caddy. An English, rosewood case with glass mixer, dating to the Regency period, circa 1820.
Appealing craftsma...
Category
1820s British Regency Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Glass, Wood
Sterling Silver Tea Caddy Hamilton & Co Calcutta
Located in Northampton, GB
Decorate with Repousee Flowers
From our Tea Caddy collection, we are pleased to offer this Sterling Silver Tea Caddy. The Tea Caddy of oval canister form with a central band of flo...
Category
Late 19th Century British Neoclassical Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Silver, Sterling Silver
Very decorative Burmese tea tin
Located in East Geelong, VIC
This very decorative tea tin was made for the Burmese market with text in Chinese, English and Burmese. It was shipped from Amoy (now Xiamem) in China to be sold in the retail store ...
Category
1920s Chinese Vintage Tea Caddies
Materials
Steel
Georgian Tuscan Column Tea Caddy
Located in Northampton, GB
With Tuscan Columns & Fan Inlay.
From our Tea Caddy collection, we are pleased to offer this Georgian Harewood Tea Caddy. The Tea Caddy of octagonal shape with a Harewood veneer exterior and crossbanded Tulipwood with Boxwood edging. The front features an oval cartouche with a central fan inlay matching the lid with a further fan inlay surmounted by turned bone...
Category
Late 18th Century British George III Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Boxwood, Tulipwood, Harewood
George III Mahogany Tea Caddy with Inlay & Burled Crossbanding
Located in Atlanta, GA
George III Mahogany Tea Caddy with Inlay & Burled Crossbanding, ca. 1790
Category
Late 18th Century English George III Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Mahogany
19th Century Moorish Inlaid Tea Caddy
Located in Arundel, GB
Moorish sandalwood Tea Caddy with pretty brass inlay and bound corners.
Complete with working key.
India circa 1890
Category
19th Century Indian Moorish Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Brass
Antique Tinware Tea Caddy
Located in Northampton, GB
Simulated Wood Tin Tea Caddy
From our Tea Caddy collection, we are delighted to offer this Tinware Tea Caddy. The Caddy of hexagonal shape fully hand-p...
Category
Late 18th Century British George III Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Tin
English George III Mahogany Tea Caddy with Patera Inlay, ca. 1790
Located in Atlanta, GA
English George III Mahogany Tea Caddy with Patera Inlay, ca. 1790
Category
1790s English George III Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Mahogany
English Georgian Chinroserie Tortoise Shell Tea Caddy with Ball Feet, C. 1800
Located in Hollywood, SC
English Georgian Chinroserie bow front tortoise shell tea caddy with a hinged tiered lid, Chinese landscape mother of pearl inlays with flanking pagodas, fences, & foliage trees, central paktong plaque and escutcheon, bone fitted interior border with two lidded tortoiseshell foil lined compartments, and resting on the original four bone ball...
Category
Early 1800s English Georgian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Foil
French Early 19th Century Tea caddy Featuring marquetry Inlay of Figures Dancing
Located in Atlanta, GA
French Early 19th Century Tea caddy Featuring marquetry Inlay of Figures Dancing
Category
19th Century French Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Wood
English Sheffield Silver Plate Covered Round Shape Tea Caddy
Located in Tarry Town, NY
Discover the epitome of refined elegance with our extraordinary English Sheffield silver pate covered round shape tea caddy / biscuit box. This exquisite piece seamlessly blends fu...
Category
1890s English Art Deco Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Silver Plate
19th Century, Rosewood & Brass Scent Box
Located in Bedfordshire, GB
A charming and particularly good quality mid-19th century, Victorian Period, rosewood perfume scent box, with attractive brass bound decoration and hinged li...
Category
Mid-19th Century English Victorian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Brass
Van Nelle Yellow Metal Tea Box by Jacques Jongert, circa 1930
Located in Barcelona, Barcelona
Tea box designed by Jacques Jongert circa 1930 in ' De Stijl ' design manufactured for Van Nelle in Netherland.
Metal, painted in color
In good o...
Category
1930s Dutch Mid-Century Modern Vintage Tea Caddies
Materials
Metal
English Octagonal Satinwood Tea Caddy with Rosewood Cross Banding
Located in Atlanta, GA
English Octagonal Satinwood Tea Caddy with Rosewood Cross Banding and String Inlay, Early 19th Century
Category
Early 19th Century English Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Rosewood, Satinwood
Georgian Oval Tea Caddy
Located in Northampton, GB
From our Tea Caddy collection, we are delighted to offer this Georgian Oval Tea Caddy. The Tea Caddy of elongated Oval form veneered in Harewood with Box...
Category
Late 18th Century British George III Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Brass
English Early Tea Caddy
Located in Tampa, FL
English early large and beautifully decorated tea cadd with its compartments lids with ivory knobs top on the lids. Beautifully inlaid on the front of the escutcheon. The interior me...
Category
1810s English Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Wood
Georgian Silver Tea Caddy Tableware Empire Sterling Silver Box Empire Casket
Located in Wommelgem, VAN
Antique Sterling Silver tea caddy / box
Style Georgian, French Empire, Napoleonic, Dutch
A sterling silver very stylized tea box with good working lock
Decorated with embossed pearl...
Category
Early 19th Century Dutch Empire Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Silver
19th Century English Tunbridge Ware Marquetry Tea Caddy
Located in Forney, TX
A well-made antique, circa 1830, English tea caddy with stunning marquetry inlays, warm coloring, superb detailing, and luminous rich patina!
When tea first arrived in Europe in t...
Category
19th Century English Regency Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Brass
Baroque Style Japanned Tea Caddy, Late 19th Century
Located in New York, NY
Baroque style brass-mounted Japanned casket, late 19th century, with domed and molded top with rocaille-cast brass handle, above a convex shaped body o...
Category
Late 19th Century Chinoiserie Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Brass
Vintage, New and Antique Tea Caddies
There are lots of uses for your vintage, new or antique tea caddies, but they can certainly serve their original intended purpose if needed.
When tea first gained popularity during the 1800s, and teatime became commonplace in homes all over England, it was an expensive commodity owing to excessive taxation. (This, of course, inevitably yielded a black market for tea leaves.) Tea drinkers hoarded their precious goods, which began to arrive in London ports from China during the 17th century, under lock and key. In luxury homes, tea leaves were stowed away in a decorative jar or canister called a tea caddy that was fitted with a lock, or, alternatively, the container was kept in a secured chest or storage cabinet.
Tea was thought to be not just a delicious drink but also to have medicinal benefits. The Chinese had been praising the healthy properties of tea, and wealthy Europeans were eager to discover its benefits for themselves during their ritual afternoon tea. The idea of “teatime” wasn’t a social event in upper-class British homes until the 1830s or 1840s. During Queen Victoria’s reign, small baked treats might be served with your beverage, and teakettles and coffeepots were part of tea services that could include teacups, saucers, a milk pot and other accessories.
When tea cultivation was relegated to British colonies such as India, and the British East India Company could no longer hold onto its trade monopoly with China, tea was no longer a ritual confined to the wealthy. Today, antique and vintage tea caddies are collector’s items all over the world.
Tea caddies weren’t unique to Europeans. The earliest pieces originated in China. Surviving hand-painted examples from China or elsewhere in Asia made of porcelain might feature enameled landscapes or other designs. At the Taft Museum of Art, there are striking enameled 18th-century-era tea caddies of copper that were given to the institution in 2014. Wooden tea caddies materialized over time and were seen as sturdier than their ceramic counterparts.
Today, there are all kinds of ways to use a vintage tea caddy if you’re passing on tea. They’re a welcome decorative flourish on the mantel in your living room, for example. A metal tea caddy, lined with a plastic bag, can be used to cultivate an herb garden on your kitchen windowsill. An old wooden tea caddy can help keep your paper clips or pushpins organized on your desk too. If you’re always on the go, a tea tin is good for packing earbuds, hand sanitizer, gum or whatever else that might get easily lost in a roomy crossbody messenger bag or other shoulder bag.
Teatime or not, find antique and vintage mid-century modern tea caddies, tortoiseshell caddies and more on 1stDibs.
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