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Tea Caddies For Sale
Style: Victorian
Style: Georgian
Victorian Hungarian Ash Tea Caddy
Located in Bedfordshire, GB
A charming Mid-19th Century hungarian ash tea caddy of unusual design, having applied tablet & chequered strung decoration to well figured exterior, with slightly domed hinged top en...
Category
Mid-19th Century English Victorian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Ash
Antique Sheraton Style Inlaid 3 Compartment Tea Caddy. English C.1780
Located in St Annes, Lancashire
A wonderful tropical hardwood tea caddy.
Very good quality inlay
Good condition. No missing pieces of inlay
3 compartments with lids
Original patina. Not re-polished
Free UK sh...
Category
Late 18th Century English Georgian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Wood
Antique George IV Gonçalo Alves & Amboyna Marquetry Tea Caddy C1825 19th Century
Located in London, GB
This is an exquisite antique George IV Gonçalo Alves and amboyna marquetry inlaid tea caddy, circa 1825 in date.
It is beautifully decorated with superb marquetry decoration to the ...
Category
1820s George IV Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Amboyna
Georgian Decagonal Ivory, Tortoiseshell & Silver Tea Caddy w/ Tented Top 18thc
Located in Savannah, GA
This lovely elongated decagon shaped tented topped tea caddy is made from ivory with ten panels separated by tortoiseshell stringing as well as tortoise outlining the bottom. Silver...
Category
1790s English George III Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Sterling Silver
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 ext...
Category
Late 18th Century English George III Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Boxwood, Harewood
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...
Category
Early 19th Century Early Victorian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Rosewood
Birds Eye Maple Tea Caddy. English, Early 19th Century
Located in St Annes, Lancashire
Very good example of a birds eye maple tea caddy
A delightful colour
Good condition. No chips to the veneer.
Two compartment interior with lids
Free UK shipping
Category
Early 19th Century English Georgian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Birdseye Maple
Georgian 18th Century Octagonal Mahogany Tea Caddy
Located in Bedfordshire, GB
An Very Unusual Late 18th Century George III Period Mahogany Octagonal Tea Caddy, Having Rare Attractive Inlaid Decoration Of Fans And Pillars, With Hinged Lid Enclosing Lidded Compa...
Category
Late 18th Century English Georgian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Mahogany
Antique English Georgian Period Mahogany Tea Caddy circa 1800
Located in Forney, TX
A charming period English George III (1760-1820) mahogany inlaid tea caddy.
Tea was of exceptional value prior to the mid-19th century, plus the type of tea you could afford and th...
Category
Late 18th Century English Georgian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Bone, Mahogany
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...
Category
Late 18th Century English George III Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Yew
Antique George III Harewood Inlaid Tea Chest
Located in Northampton, GB
With Two Tea Caddies
From our Tea Caddy collection, we are pleased to offer this Georgian Harewood Tea Chest. The Tea Chest of rectangular form veneered in Harewood with inlaid Boxw...
Category
Late 18th Century English George III Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Boxwood, Harewood
Georgian 18th Century Mahogany Rectangular Tea Caddy
Located in Bedfordshire, GB
A Good Quality And Attractive Late 18th Century, George III Period Rectangular Mahogany Tea Caddy Having Well Figured Veneers To Top, Front And Sides With Attractive Banded Decoratio...
Category
Late 18th Century English George III Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Mahogany
Rare English Mahogany Tea Caddy - Form of Chest of Drawers c.1880
Located in Bath, GB
A very handsome and rare large Victorian tea caddy created in the form of a chest of drawers.
Made from Mahogany, the drawers are obviously false with a satinwood front trimmed with...
Category
1880s British Victorian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Wood
Georgian Tortoiseshell Tea Caddy
Located in Northampton, GB
Oval Tea Caddy with Silver Mounts
From our Tea Caddy collection, we are delighted to offer this Georgian Silver and Tortoiseshell Tea Caddy. The Tea Caddy is of oval shape with a Tortoiseshell exterior mounted with engraved silver stringing, a silver shield plaque below the silver escutcheon and a silver looped handle. The interior features a floating tea shelf...
Category
Early 1800s English George III Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Silver
18th Century Tea Caddy
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Made in the late 18th century into the early 19th century in the style of Georgian, and made from strong mahogany wood. Clamped together by metal hardware. There was once a key to lo...
Category
Late 18th Century English Georgian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Mahogany
Antique George III Green Tortoiseshell Tea Caddy
Located in Northampton, GB
Georgian Period Circa 1790
From our Tea Caddy collection, we are delighted to offer this Georgian Green Tortoiseshell Tea Caddy. The Tea Caddy is finished in vibrant green Tortoises...
Category
Late 18th Century English George III Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Silver
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 ...
Category
1790s English George III Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Mahogany
Georgian Prince of Wales Feathers Harewood Tea Caddy
Located in Northampton, GB
Georgian Tea Caddy featuring the Prince of Wales Feathers with Canted Corners
From our Tea Caddy collection, we are delighted to offer this Georgian Prince...
Category
Late 18th Century English George III Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Boxwood, Satinwood, Harewood
Antique Georgian Birdseye Maple English Double Tea Caddy Box Cut Crystal Bowl
Located in Dublin, Ireland
A Superb Example of an English Georgian Period Well figured Birds Eye Maple Double Interior Section Tea Caddy of flat rectangular outline, generous proportions and outstanding qualit...
Category
Early 19th Century English Georgian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Brass
Dutch Marquetry Inlaid Mahogany Single Tea Caddy c.1810
Located in Bath, GB
This wonderful early nineteenth century tea caddy was made to emulate the larger decanter boxes made in a similar shape and manor during this period.
Made from Mahogany, the box is ...
Category
1810s Dutch George III Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Brass
20th Century Sterling Italian Silver Tea Caddy George III replica
Located in VALENZA, IT
George III tea caddy replica.
Obtained from a silver sheet, it is rectangular in shape with shaped sides, it is embossed and chiseled with floral motifs and shells. The feet reprodu...
Category
Late 20th Century Italian Georgian Tea Caddies
Materials
Sterling Silver
English Burl Walnut Tea Caddy With Decorative Brass Mounts
Located in Free Union, VA
A handsome Victorian era burl wood tea caddy retaining much of its interior silvering. The exterior is adorned with ornamental brass strapwork elements, studs and an escutcheon, the ...
Category
Late 19th Century English Victorian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Brass
Large Georgian Mahogany Tea Caddy
Located in Bedfordshire, GB
A good quality Georgian 18th century mahogany rectangular tea caddy having replacement brass axe drop handle to hinged lid enclosing cavity with attractive inlaid decoration througho...
Category
Late 18th Century English Georgian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Mahogany
Continental Antique Georgian Melon Fruit Tea Caddy
Located in Northampton, GB
The Tea Caddy is an exceptional example shaped as a Melon and made from Sycamore with a beautiful mottled patination showing colours of moss green and subtle orange. The Tea Caddy su...
Category
Early 1800s European George III Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Wood, Sycamore
Antique English George III Rosewood Tea Caddy Circa 1820
Located in Big Flats, NY
An antique English George III tea caddy offers rosewood construction in casket form with gadroon elements and raised on bun feet, c1820
Measures - 8"h x 13.5"d x 7.5"d
Category
Early 19th Century English George III Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Rosewood
Antique 18th Century Georgian Mahoghany Paper Scroll Work Tea Caddy Box 1780
Located in Portland, OR
A good antique Georgian scrollwork tea caddy, circa 1780.
The caddy of hexagonal shape, the front, back & cover with overall decoration of paper s...
Category
1780s English George III Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Ivory, Mahogany, Satinwood, Paper
Tunbridge Ware - A Two Compartment Tea Caddy with Eridge Castle Mosaic, c1865
Located in Tunbridge Wells, GB
Tunbridge Ware - A Two Compartment Tea Caddy with Eridge Castle Mosaic, c1865
Additional Information:
Heading: Tunbridge Ware - A Two Compartment Tea Caddy with Eridge Castle Mosaic...
Category
19th Century English Victorian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Satinwood
A Sarcophagus-Style Two Compartment Tea Caddy Depicting Hever Castle, c1870
Located in Tunbridge Wells, GB
A Sarcophagus-Style Two Compartment Tea Caddy Depicting Hever Castle, c1870
Additional Information:
Heading: A Tunbridge Ware Substantial Sarcophagus-Style Two Compartment Tea Caddy...
Category
19th Century English Victorian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Oak
Very Rare Large Tunbridge Ware Tea Pot Stand, 1848-49
Located in Tunbridge Wells, GB
Very Rare Large Tunbridge Ware Tea Pot Stand, 1848-49
Additional Information:
Heading: Large Tunbridge Ware Tea Pot Stand with Mosaic featuring Climbing Roses
Date : 1848/49
Period : Victorian
Origin : Tunbridge Wells; labelled for Edmund Nye with a handwritten notation inside stating '10th January 1849'
Decoration : The Rosewood Frame has four chamfered edges each with a Berlin wool-work style climbing rose inside two pairs of banded keylines. The frame is filled with a 'petit point' needlework pad of stylised geometric pattern; the whole sits on four large bun feet
Condition : Good with regard to tile completeness - one patch of four contiguous missing tesserae and some singles lost; one of the corners has lost 8-10 pieces; one corner of the pad is a little threadbare and there's another square of four missing stitches; the base still has it's original lining paper affixed, but has a split across its entire width; this does not affect the stability of the piece and is, obviously, underneath so only becomes apparent should you turn the thing over,
Restoration : None
Note : This piece is something of a revelation, as the pad with its 'petit point' embroidery on penelope or needlepoint canvas is very much representative of the process by which the original Berlin...
Category
19th Century English Victorian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Wood
Georgian Bombe Shaped Mahogany Tea Caddy
Located in Bedfordshire, GB
An Attractive George III Period, 18th Century Mahogany, English Tea Caddy Of Bombe Shaped Form Having Original Brass Swan Neck Handle, To Hinged Lid Enclosing Divisions And Chequered...
Category
Mid-18th Century English Georgian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Mahogany
A Tunbridge Ware Two Compartment Tea Caddy with Rounded Lid, c1870
Located in Tunbridge Wells, GB
A Tunbridge Ware Two Compartment Tea Caddy with Rounded lid Depicting Hever Castle, c1870
Additional Information:
Heading: Tunbridge Ware - Two Compartment Tea Caddy with Rounded li...
Category
19th Century English Victorian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Lacquer
Tunbridge Ware Tea Caddy Rare Depiction Carew Castle Pembrokeshire, c1870
Located in Tunbridge Wells, GB
Tunbridge Ware Tea Caddy Rare Depiction Carew Castle Pembrokeshire, c1870
Additional Information:
Heading: Tunbridge Ware Tea Caddy Rare Depiction Carew Castle (Pembrokeshire) c1870
Date : c1870
Period : Victorian
Origin : Tunbridge Wells attributed to Henry Hollamby
Decoration : Has a classic floral ""Berlin...
Category
19th Century English Victorian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Satinwood
Tea Caddy English George III
Located in Cheltenham, GB
English George III triple tea caddy with untouched patina colour and original brassware standing on ogee feet with 3 section interior.
Category
18th Century English Georgian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Brass
Georgian Period Apple Shaped Treen Tea Caddy
Located in Savannah, GA
During the Georgian period the neoclassical manner became increasingly popular in England, resulting in a style of furniture and accessories now associated with elegant restraint. Wh...
Category
Early 1800s English George III Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Metal
Tea Caddy Yew Boxwood Inlaid English George III
Located in Cheltenham, GB
A fine 18th century satinwood and yew tea caddy, the oval burr panels figuring on all sides with boxwood banding and bone knob to the lid. Wonderful patination and remnants of silver...
Category
18th Century English Georgian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Boxwood, Yew, Satinwood
Two Compartment Tunbridge Ware Tea Caddy Uncommon Depiction Dover Castle, c1870
Located in Tunbridge Wells, GB
Two Compartment Tunbridge Ware Tea Caddy Uncommon Depiction Dover Castle, c1870
Additional Information:
Heading: Tunbridge Ware - Two Compartment Tea Caddy with Rounded lid Depicting Dover Castle
Date : c1870
Period : Victorian
Origin : Tunbridge Wells; England (attrib. Henry Hollamby - see below)
Decoration : The rounded and square-ended lid features a mosaic image of Dover Castle set within Golden Satinwood; it is bound by a seven-square geometric band which is in turn within sets of two continuous and one banded keyline; the flat sides of the lid have a five-square geometric band with two pairs of continuous keylines. There is a broad Berlin Woolwork...
Category
19th Century English Victorian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Satinwood
Victorian Tunbridge Ware Tea Caddy
Located in Bedfordshire, GB
A Charming 19th Century Tunbridge Ware Tea Caddy With Attractive Floral Band To Main Body And Parquetry Perspective Cubes To Hinged Lid Enclosing Lidded Interior.
Tea was an extrem...
Category
Mid-19th Century English Victorian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Other
George III Sterling Silver Tea Caddy Made in London by Hester Bateman in 1787
Located in London, GB
A very rare and fine George III Tea Caddy made in London in 1787 by Hester Bateman.
The Tea Caddy is modelled in a known design from the Hester Bateman workshops. This fine example...
Category
18th Century English George III Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Silver
William IV Burr Walnut Teapoy
Located in Altrincham, GB
William IV burr walnut teapoy c1830-40, circular hinged top opening to two cylinder caddies and mixing bowls raised on a wrythen moulded column and three...
Category
1830s Early Victorian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Walnut
Antique Georgian Masonic Freemasons Tea Caddy
Located in Northampton, GB
Featuring Masonic Scenes
From our Tea Caddy collection, we are delighted to offer this extremely rare Georgian Masonic Tea caddy. The Tea Caddy of box form with chequered edging and borders of Tulipwood surrounding Burr Yew wood squares each featuring Satinwood oval panels depicting Masonic Symbols. The symbols include the past master, senior warden, junior warden and the past worshipful master. The top of the box features inlaid moon, stars and sun surmounted by a brass carry handle. The interior of the Tea Caddy features a floating lid with a turned metal handle. The Tea Caddy dates to the Georgian period during the reign of George III circa 1800.
The Tea Caddy comes complete with working lock and tasselled key.
Tulipwood is also known as Brazilian Tulipwood, Brazilian Pinkwood and Bahia Rosewood. It is found in South America, mainly Brazil. The colour is a warm yellow with streaks or brown-red grain.
Burr Yew originates from Asia, Europe and North Africa. It is yellow-brown to orange-brown and usually conforms to a fine uniform pattern. Yew wood usually has black pips scattered throughout so clean veneers fetch a high price and are reserved for finer items. A few trees will produce a burr which offers a distinct decorative finish.
Satinwood is found in India and Sri Lanka. It has a rich golden colour and an almost reflective sheen. Satinwood is traditionally used for high quality furniture.
Georgian, a period in British history dating from 1714-1837, the Georgian era after the Hanoverian kings George I, George II, George III and George IV.
Masonic (Freemasons, Freemasonry or Masonry) refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that from the end of the 14th century regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities and clients. While Freemasonry is not itself a religion, all its members believe in a supreme being...
Category
Early 1800s English George III Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Satinwood, Tulipwood, Yew
Quality antique George III large tea caddy
Located in Ipswich, GB
Quality antique George III large tea caddy with the original brass ornate handle to the top opening to reveal three storage compartments.
D. 1800
Category
Early 19th Century Georgian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Brass
Quality antique George III mahogany tea caddy
Located in Ipswich, GB
Quality antique George III mahogany tea caddy having a quality antique George III mahogany tea caddy with satinwood stringing inlay, with a lift up lid opening to reveal two lidded r...
Category
Early 19th Century George III Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Mahogany
Victorian Sterling Silver Tea Caddy/Box
Located in Jesmond, Newcastle Upon Tyne
A magnificent, fine and impressive, rare antique Victorian English sterling silver tea caddy/box in the form of a nutmeg; an addition to our silver teaware collection
This magnifice...
Category
1880s British Victorian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Sterling Silver
Georgian Novelty Apple Fruit Tea Caddy
Located in Northampton, GB
Shaped as an Apple
From our Tea Caddy collection, we are delighted to offer this superb Georgian Apple Treen Tea Caddy. The Tea Caddy carved from Sycamore as a novelty Apple with a button stalk, shaped body and shaped cut steel escutcheon. When opened the Caddy reveals traces of the original tin foil lining for housing Tea leaves. The Apple Fruit Tea Caddy...
Category
Early 1800s English George III Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Sycamore
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...
Category
Early 19th Century Victorian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Wood
Tunbridge Ware Two Compartment Tea Caddy Depicting Battle Abbey Gatehouse c1870
Located in Tunbridge Wells, GB
Heading : Tunbridge ware tea caddy depicting battle abbey gatehouse
Date : c1870
Period : Victoria
Origin : Tunbridge Wells, Kent
Decoration : Central image depicts Battle Abbey Gate...
Category
1870s British Victorian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Wood
Victorian Sterling Silver Tea Caddy William Hutton & Sons
Located in Northampton, GB
Ebony & Silver Finial
From our Tea Caddy collection, we are pleased to offer a Victorian Silver Tea Caddy. The Silver Tea Caddy of unusual oval shape ...
Category
Late 19th Century English Victorian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Silver, Sterling Silver
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
Georgian Inlaid Tea Caddy
Located in Northampton, GB
From our Tea Caddy collection, we are pleased to offer this Georgian octagonal Inlaid Tea Caddy. The Tea Caddy of octagonal form veneered in Harewood with inlaid twin Tuscan Columns ...
Category
Late 18th Century English Georgian Antique Tea Caddies
Materials
Boxwood, Tulipwood, Harewood
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
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 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
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
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
English Georgian Serpentine Tortoise Shell & Mother of Pearl Tea Caddy, C. 1800
Located in Hollywood, SC
English Georgian serpentine tortoise shell and mother of pearl hinged tea caddy with four flanking inlaid corner columns, central 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
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
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
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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