Rare & Important 16th Century Italian Bronze Jacopo Lodovico del Duca Table Box
Located in Forney, TX
Having various names depending on origin, time period, and intended use, they were frequently used by traveling merchants as a portable writing slope - lap desk while traveling for t...
Bronze, Metal
Coconut Bugbear Box/Tea Caddy by Unknown Sailor
Located in Point Richmond, CA
Coconut Bugbear Box/Tea Caddy by Unknown Sailor A carved coconut bugbear in the form of a box with an unhinged lid with a carved image of a bird on a branch.
Wood
Coconut Bugbear Box/Tea Caddy by Unknown Sailor
Located in Point Richmond, CA
Coconut Bugbear Box/Tea Caddy by Unknown Sailor A large carved coconut bugbear in the form of a box with a metal hinged lid.
Wood
18th Century Baroque Period Italian German Guild Chest Cabinet Jewelry Casket
By Ferdinando Pogliani
Located in Forney, TX
keywords: curiosity cabinet of curiosities jewelry casket specimen exhibition collectors case monumental decorative table box coin safe strongbox strong bible box coffer portable ba...
Lapis Lazuli, Metal, Brass, Bronze, Ormolu, Pewter
Antique Dutch Repousse Sterling Silver Heart Shaped Trinket Box Tea Caddy 1890
Located in Portland, OR
A fine quality antique Dutch silver heart shaped repousse work trinket box or tea caddy, by Rinze Jans Spaanstra, 1843-1896.
Silver
Heintz Arts & Crafts Sterling Silver on Bronze Lidded Tea Caddy or Cigar Box
By Heintz Art Metal Shop
Located in South Bend, IN
A beautiful Arts & Crafts period sterling silver on bronze lidded canister, tea caddy, or cigar box with verdigris green patina.
Sterling Silver, Bronze
Heintz Arts & Crafts Sterling Silver on Bronze Humidor
By Heintz Art Metal Shop
Located in South Bend, IN
A beautiful Arts & Crafts period sterling silver on bronze lidded canister, tea caddy, or humidor cigar box By Heintz Art Metal Shop USA, Early 20th Century Measures: 4"W x 4"D x...
Sterling Silver, Bronze
Heintz Arts & Crafts Sterling Silver on Bronze Humidor
By Heintz Art Metal Shop
Located in South Bend, IN
A beautiful Arts & Crafts period sterling silver on bronze lidded canister, tea caddy, or humidor cigar box By Heintz Art Metal Shop USA, Early 20th Century Measures: 6"W x 6...
Sterling Silver, Bronze
Victorian Sterling Silver Tea Caddy by Joseph Angell, London, 1847
Located in Jesmond, Newcastle Upon Tyne
An exceptional, fine and impressive, large antique Victorian English sterling silver tea caddy/biscuit box; an addition to our silver teaware collection.
Sterling Silver
Rajasthani Decorative Brass Lidded Betel Caddy Box
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
Used as a tea caddy with tea boxes and tray and cup inside.
Brass, Copper
Joseph Heinrichs Art Deco Mixed-Metal Bronze and Sterling Silver Box, circa 1930
By Joseph Heinrichs
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
HEINRICHS PARIS + NEW YORK PURE BRONZE STERLING SILVER” Suitable as a tobacco box, jewelry container, tea caddy, covered sugar bowl, desk box, or decorative vessel.
Sterling Silver, Bronze
Antique Black Forest Style Wooden Carved Trinket Box or Bucket Owl, circa 1920
Located in Barntrup, DE
An impressive, large, and beautiful German Black Forest style hand-carved wooden trinket box or tea caddy made in the shape of an owl.
Metal
$1,600Sale Price|20% Off
Antique Dutch Neoclassical Silver Tea Caddy, 1805
Located in New York, NY
Dutch Neoclassical silver tea caddy, 1805. Oval bowl; cover hinged and domed with silver-mounted wood finial. Beading and fluting. An austere vessel for keeping fresh the precious le...
Silver
Antique German Hanau Baroque Silver Tea Caddy
By Hanau, Simon Rosenau
Located in New York, NY
German Baroque 800 silver tea caddy, ca 1890. Rectilinear with curved corners; top flat and plain with short neck and cover. Chased and embossed flowers with crisscrossing leafing st...
Silver
English Georgian Satinwood Veneered Tea Caddy Box
Located in Queens, NY
English Georgian rectangular satinwood veneered and banded edge tea caddy box hinged top and silver handle revealing two compartments centering an open round center.
Silver
Great Shape & Color, Antique Tea Caddy inNutwood with Brass Lock and Hinges
Located in Lisse, NL
A very pleasing to the eye, early 1800s triple compartment tea caddy. This marvellous tea caddy is in very good condition and the patinated nutwood has a truly warm, deep and rich p...
Brass
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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