19th Century English Blonde Tortoiseshell Tea Caddy
Located in Atlanta, GA
19th Century English Blonde Tortoiseshell Tea Caddy
19th Century English Antique Tea Caddies
Tortoise Shell
19th Century English Blonde Tortoiseshell Tea Caddy
Located in Atlanta, GA
19th Century English Blonde Tortoiseshell Tea Caddy
Tortoise Shell
Antique English Satinwood Wooden Georgian Regency Double Tea Caddy 19th Century
By Gillows of Lancaster & London
Located in Dublin, Ireland
Impressive English Georgian Sheraton Period Flame Grain Satinwood Double Tea Caddy of outstanding quality and workmanship and compact size. Circa 1800-20. The hinged lid cross band...
Mahogany, Satinwood
Antique English Inlaid Mahogany Tea Caddy, circa 1790
Located in Bath, GB
A very handsome George III tea caddy, made from Mahogany and beautifully inlaid with panels and highly decorative foliate marquetry to the front and top. The top has a handsome cast ...
Mahogany
English Chinoiserie Tea Caddy with Dual Interior Canisters, 19th Century
Located in Wichita, KS
19th Century English Chinoiserie Tea Caddy with Dual Interior Canisters A 19th century English chinoiserie tea caddy of faceted octagonal form, raised on carved paw feet and decorat...
Metal
Antique English Mahogany Wooden Georgian Regency Double Tea Caddy 18h Century
Located in Dublin, Ireland
Impressive English Georgian Period Conch Shell Flame Grain Mahogany Single Teacaddy of outstanding quality and workmanship and compact size. Circa 1790. The hinged lid cross banded ...
Mahogany, Satinwood
Pair of Antique 18th Century French Enamel Tea Caddies Circa 1780-1790
Located in London, GB
Pair of 18th century French enamel tea caddies in excellent condition. The exterior pastoral scenes on each panel including the lids are all well executed. The interiors are clean ...
Copper, Enamel
Wonderful Lorin Marsh Tavola Regency Penshell Large Tea Caddy Box Casket
Located in Roslyn, NY
A Wonderful Lorin Marsh Style Tavola Regency Penshell Large Tea Caddy, Decorative Box Casket With Black felt Lining
Stone
18th Century Star Inlaid Mahogany Georgian Tea Caddy
Located in Bedfordshire, GB
A Very Good Quality Georgian 18th Century Mahogany Rectangular Tea Caddy, Of Good Colour And Patina Throughout, Having Attractive Inlaid Stars And Chequered Strung Decoration, The Hi...
Mahogany
Rare Regency Architectural Pressed Tortoiseshell Tea Caddy
Located in Northampton, GB
Pressed Tortoiseshell Design From our Tea Caddy collection, we are delighted to offer this Regency Architectural Tortoiseshell Tea Caddy. The Tea Caddy of bombe form with flared bas...
Shell
Antique mid 19th Century Rosewood tea caddy
Located in Allentown, PA
This is a 19th century handmade Rosewood tea caddy. This tea caddy has his original glass disposable in the center with two compartments on either side. The tea caddy stands on four ...
Wood
Antique English Georgian Glazed Silk Embroidered Tea Caddy
Located in Northampton, GB
Octagonal Shape with Glazed Panels From our Tea Caddy collection, we are delighted to bring to market this wonderful example Georgian Glazed Silk Embroidered Tea Caddy. The Tea Cad...
Glass, Wood, Boxwood, Satinwood
$2,240Sale Price|20% Off
Regency Brass Bound Rosewood Fitted Traveling Dressing Box
Located in Huntington, NY
Regency Brass Bound Rosewood Fitted traveling , dressing box With fitted interior, containing 2 fragrance bottles. Silver lidded makeup Jars, a mir...
Silver, Brass
Quality antique Victorian tunbridge ware inlaid tea caddy
Located in Ipswich, GB
Quality antique Victorian tunbridge ware inlaid tea caddy having a lovely antique Victorian tunbridge ware inlaid tea caddy with beautiful detail to the box opening to reveal two rec...
Wood
Stunning Late 1800s Gothic Revival Walnut & Brass Tea Caddy Box W. Great Patina
Located in Lisse, NL
A very pleasing, late 19th century, double compartment tea caddy. This marvellous and rare tea caddy is in very good condition and the burl walnut has a truly warm, deep and rich pa...
Bronze, Brass
$760Sale Price|20% Off
English Rosewood Tea Caddy With Satinwood Banding & Claw Feet 19thC
Located in Big Flats, NY
An 19th Century English Rosewood Tea Caddy, presented on a pedestal stand. This fine antique piece is crafted from rosewood, showcasing its distinctive grain, and is adorned with sat...
Rosewood
Antique 18c/19c English or French Enamel Bronze Mounted Tea Caddy Box
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A fine antique enamel tea caddy. With a gilt bronze mounted lid. In the South Staffordshire manner. Decorated with floral sprays and rocaille swags to all sides. Likely...
Bronze, Enamel
Victorian Continental Silver .800 Hannau Footed Tea Caddy
Located in New York, NY
Victorian, Continental silver .800, footed tea caddy, Germany, with Hannau marks, circa. 1895, B. Neresheimer and Sohne - makers. Chased with dancing ...
Sterling Silver
Antique 19th Century French Beaux-Arts Silver-Mounted Enamel Tea Caddy by Risler
By Risler & Carré
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A fine antique French enamel tea caddy. Mounted with gilt silver mounts. By Risler of Paris. Decorated with polychrome birds or paradise, rock outcroppings, and flowers/flor...
Silver, Enamel
Antique English Georgian Harewood Tea Caddy
Located in Northampton, GB
FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING Georgian harewood tea caddy of elongated oval form, veneered in harewood with inlaid decoration and fitted interior. The exterior is finished in harewood, f...
Wood, Harewood
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.
Silver
Georgian Walnut Rectangular Tea Caddy 18th Century
Located in Bedfordshire, GB
An Extremely Attractive Mid 18th Century George II Period Rectangular Walnut Tea Caddy Having Boxwood Strung Decoration Throughout And Original Brass Swan Neck Handle To Hinged Lid E...
Walnut
$1,251Sale Price|20% Off
Antique Tea Caddy, English, Satinwood, Box, Mixing Glass, Regency, circa 1830
Located in Hele, Devon, GB
This is an antique tea caddy. An English, rosewood and satinwood container with glass mixer, dating to the late Regency period, circa 1830. Delightful R...
Satinwood
Georgian Octagonal Tea Caddy, Partridgewood, England, Circa 1780
Located in Bedfordshire, GB
A Rare Partridgewood, Late 18th Century Georgian Tea Caddy, Of Octagonal Form Having Attractive Inlaid Decoration And Hinged Lid Enclosing Two Lidded Divisions. Partridge wood is a...
Other
19th century French oak and brass mounted tea caddy by Tahan of Paris C1880
Located in Central England, GB
A most impressive and highly decorative French large size double tea caddy made in tightly grained rich oak. The rectangular box stands on circular shaped brass feet with brass bea...
Brass
Antique EnglisH Regency Tea Chest with Chinoiserie Decoration
Located in Northampton, GB
FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING Tea chest with Chinoiserie decoration, of rectangular sarcophagus form with a slightly tapered body and angled lid, raised upon four brass ball feet and dat...
Sycamore
19th Century English Rosewood Tea Caddy With Bronze Inlay
Located in Tampa, FL
This exquisite English tea caddy is a masterpiece of elegance and craftsmanship, crafted from rich rosewood and adorned with intricate bronze inlay. Resting on ornate bronze feet, th...
Bronze
$2,641Sale Price|35% Off
Georgian Harewood 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...
Boxwood, Harewood
19th Century Chinese Export Lacquer Tea Caddy
Located in Mt Kisco, NY
The burgundy / brown lacquer is decorated with gold depicting figures and buildings in a landscape. The caddy stands on four carved wooden feet in the shape of claws. The interior contains a single pewter canister...
Paper
English Silver Plate Tea Caddy / Thin Biscuit
Located in Tarry Town, NY
Mid 19th century English sheffield silver plate tea caddy / thin biscuit with exterior design details and attached covered top . The tea caddy ...
Silver Plate, Copper
Prince of Wales Inlaid Octagonal Box
Located in Greenwich, CT
George III octagonal mahogany and boxwood inlaid box with unusual Price of Wales feather inlay, the edges strung in boxwood or holly, retaining pleasing old finish and original lock,...
Boxwood, Mahogany
Georgian 18th Century Satinwood Tea Caddy Butterfly Inlay
Located in Bedfordshire, GB
A Very Good Quality And Attractive Late 18th Century George III Period Satinwood Tea Caddy, With Extremely Unusual And Elegant Butterfly Inlaid Decoration To Hinged Top, Enclosing St...
Satinwood
Antique Japanese Dovetailed Copper Dragon Tobacco Tea Snuff Storage Jar Caddy 6"
Located in Dayton, OH
Antique Japanese barrel shaped lidded tobacco, tea, snuff jar / box / caddy. Made of copper, hammered, dovetailed, studded, and etched with dragons. ...
Copper
Hand-Carved Antique Bronze Jewelry Box with Love Birds, Europe, 1920
Located in Delray Beach, FL
Beautiful novelty bronze box with lovely theme of two love bird. Exquisite addition to any room.
Bronze
1970's Mexican Don S. Shoemaker Set of 4 Mixed Woods Spice Boxes / Tea Caddies
Located in Mexico City, MX
A 1970's Mexican mixed hardwood set of 4 spice boxes by American designer Don S. Shoemaker. The geometric shaped boxes with round covers are designed with bands of different woods. ...
Wood
$1,529Sale Price|40% Off
Hand Painted Apple-Shaped Tea Caddy, Wood, Regency Style, 20th Century
Located in Reading, Berkshire
A 20th Century Hand Painted Hinged Lidded Tea Caddy In The Shape Of An Apple With A Metal Patinated Stalk A tea caddy is a box, jar, canister, or other receptacle used to store tea...
Wood
Tortoiseshell Tea Caddy, England Circa 1820
Located in Dallas, TX
An exceptional early nineteenth-century tortoiseshell tea caddy of fine Georgian craftsmanship, presented in fabulous condition. Rich coloration and a beautiful natural patina highli...
Tortoise Shell
18th/19th Century English Regency Plum Pudding Mahogany Inlaid Tea Caddy
Located in Forney, TX
A fine quality Regency Era / Georgian Period tea caddy set in sumptuous plum-pudding mahogany. Exquisitely hand-crafted in England at the turn of the late 18th / early 19th century,...
Velvet, Cut Glass, Boxwood, Mahogany, Satinwood
Tortoiseshell Tea Caddy With Inlaid Mother Of Pearl
Located in Dallas, TX
Tortoiseshell tea caddy with inlaid mother of pearl from England. Metal lined under two lids. Excellent condition, circa 1860.
Tortoise Shell, Mother-of-Pearl
Chinese Export Tea Caddy, Lacquered Wood with Gilded Decorations
Located in Kastrup, DK
A beautifully crafted Chinese export tea caddy made of wood with black lacquer, richly adorned with gilded motifs featuring classical Chinese scenes of people, houses, and more. The ...
Wood
Fabulous Antique English Penwork Double Compartment Tea Caddy c.1820
Located in Bath, GB
A simply magnificent and grand example of a Regency Penwork Tea Caddy dating 1820. The caddy stands on it's original large gilded bronze Lion's paw feet and the sides retaining the ...
Wood
Antique English Georgian Silver Tea Caddy by William Vincent
Located in Northampton, GB
Hallmarked Sterling by William Vincent of London Dated 1779 From our Tea Caddy collection, we are delighted to offer this Georgian Sterling Silver Tea Caddy. The Tea Caddy of slight...
Sterling Silver
Chinese Export Black Lacquer Tea Caddy
Located in Tampa, FL
An early 19th century Chinese export black lacquer tea caddy, richly decorated with hand painted gilt scenes depicting traditional Chinese architecture, figures and flowering landsca...
Wood, Lacquer
Small Antique Octagonal Tented Top Amboyna Tea Caddy. English C.1820
Located in St Annes, Lancashire
A very special tea caddy Burl amboyna with silver wire stringing. Of special note is the exceptional quality of the inlay on the interior lid. Original key. Free Uk shipping ...
Amboyna
Vintage Sheffield Tea Caddy Box
By Sheffield
Located in San Diego, CA
Beautiful vintage tea caddy or box. This vintage piece is rare and it is captivating. Octagonal in silver plated finish, this piece can have a variety of uses. This piece displays...
Silver Plate
Georgian Burr Yew Tea Caddy
Located in Northampton, GB
FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING Georgian burr yew tea caddy dating to circa 1785, of rectangular form veneered throughout in beautifully figured burr yew and edged with boxwood stringing. T...
Wood, Boxwood, Yew
Antique Silver Plated Octagonal Tea Caddy with Lapis Lazuli Colored Detail
Located in Tilburg, NL
Antique silver plated tea caddy with Lapis Lazuli colored detail. First half of the 20th century. Beautiful and wonderfully patinat...
Silver, Silver Plate
19th Century carved mahogany teapoy stamped Gillows
By Gillows of Lancaster & London
Located in Debenham, Suffolk
Superb quality Gillows regency mahogany teapoy circa 1820. The main body being of sarcophagus form, which opens to 4 mahogany slides on each corner, 1 large tole compartment flanked...
Tin
Antique German Sterling Silver Teacaddy Neresheimer Sohnes Berthold Muller 1900
Located in Dublin, Ireland
An Absolutely Stunning heavy gauge German Sterling Silver Eighteenth Century style Tea Caddy Circa 1900. Intricate repousse relief decoration depicts genre scenes of adult figures ...
Crystal, Sterling Silver
Regency Penwork Tea Caddy
Located in Bradenton, FL
English Regency Penwork Tea Caddy. This charming Regency period caddy features an all-over hand-decorated penwork design. The exterior is adorned with ...
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...
Ebony, Kingwood, Harewood, Holly, Burl
Late 18th Century Georgian English Dome-Top Tea Caddy
Located in Dublin, IE
A Fine Georgian Dome-Top Tea Caddy. A beautifully preserved Georgian period single–compartment tea caddy, veneered throughout in richly figured tortoiseshell with a striking mottled ...
Wood
Regency Burr Yew Wood Tea Caddy, Ormolu Handles, England, Circa 1820
Located in Bedfordshire, GB
A Delightful Early 19th Century, Regency Period, Burr Yew Wood Tea Caddy Of Sarcophagus Form Having Boxwood Strung Decoration, Original Ormolu Handles To Side...
Yew
19th Century English Chinoiserie Toleware Grocer's Tea Canister.
Located in Vero Beach, FL
19th Century English Chinoiserie Toleware Grocer's Tea Canister A fine and well-proportioned grand-scale English grocer's toleware tea canister, dating to the mid-19th century. Desi...
Tin
Quality Antique Willian IV Rosewood Tea Caddy
Located in Ipswich, GB
Quality antique 19th Century William IV rosewood tea caddy, having a quality shaped rosewood top opening to reveal a fitted interior of a glass tea mixing bowl and a tea lidded compa...
Rosewood
Antique Regency Rosewood Brass Inlaid Tea Caddy with Original Mixing Bowl
Located in Suffolk, GB
A superb antique Regency rosewood tea caddy, beautifully veneered in the finest figured rosewood and exquisitely decorated with delicate brass line inlay. This elegant example dates ...
Rosewood
Late 19th Century Chinoiserie Tea Tin
Located in High Point, NC
Late 19th century chinoiserie tea tin from England.
Tin
19th Century English Blonde Tortoiseshell Tea Caddy
Located in Atlanta, GA
19th Century English Blonde Tortoiseshell Tea Caddy
Tortoise Shell
Georgian Burr Yew Conch Shell Tea Caddy
Located in Northampton, GB
Inlaid with Twin Conch Shells From our Tea Caddy collection, we are delighted to offer this beautiful antique Georgian Burr Yew wood Tea Caddy. The Tea Caddy of rectangular form wit...
Yew
Attractive antique Victorian quality rosewood tea caddy
Located in Ipswich, GB
Attractive antique Victorian quality rosewood tea caddy, having an attractive bombe sarcophagus form quality tea caddy, with a lift up lid opening to reveal a fitted interior with tw...
Rosewood
Victorian Rosewood and Brass Scent Box, England, 1850
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...
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.