Islamic Tea Caddies

FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING Papier-mâché Circa 1850 From our Tea Caddy collection, we are delighted to offer this petit form Papier-mâché Tea Caddy dating to the Victorian period. The ...

Beautiful handcrafted antique tinned copper decorative octagonal betel box with with lid, handle and brass latch. The metal is delicately and int...

A wonderful hand-painted papier-mâché box beautifully decorated in a blue and gold. Kashmir, India, circa turn of the century.

Antique English Victorian Marquetry Inlay Tea Caddy Sewing Box, Desk Storage. Circa Mid 19th Century. Measurements: 4.25" H x 9.25" W x 6" D.

A scarce fine quality antique silver-inlaid solid brass betel nut box (Lutuan), dating to the second half of the 19th / early 20th century, hand-crafted in Mindanao, Philippines. Boxes such as this were used to store the areca nut (also known as the betel nut) which would be wrapped in a betel leaf with lime paste and other ingredients, often tobacco, for chewing. Similar to the European tea caddy, these boxes often served as a way to impress while showing off ones wealth. Betel chewing was prevalent in the southern Philippines as in much of the rest of Southeast Asia. Wealthier Maranao families on Mindanao were able to afford elaborate silver-inlaid brass betel boxes such as this example. Such boxes were used to show off to guests and from which they were offered betel and the other component such as leaves and lime to make up the betel quid. Rare large size, most extant examples of such boxes tend to measure around 5 inches in length. At slightly more than 7.75 inches the example here is larger than most. The distinctive decorative box features a very heavy strong-box like rectangular shaped chest form with canted corners, copper handles, and a conforming hinged lid, lifting open to reveal an interior divided into three compartments covered by four hinged lids. Each of these doors is inlaid with silver in stylized orchid flower patterns. Exceptionally executed throughout, the arabesque silver inlaid exterior is decorated to the top with a large orchid motif within scrolling obid-obid (stylized rope) borders. The front, back and sides are inlaid with sets of stylized tail feathers of the sari-manok bird beneath which are unusual, highly stylized whimsical zoomorphic faces that appear like cat or tiger faces. (Such stylisation is accounted for by Southeast Asian Islamic preferences to avoid the overt and this potentially idolatrous representation of animal and human forms. Designs such as these are drawn from a local design repertoire that has its origins in wood carving. Although the spread of Islam in the Philippines began in the 14th century, mostly through the influence of Muslim merchants from the western Malay Archipelago, decorative arts in this design remain exceptionally rare. This lutuan represents a fine example of Islamic metalwork from the most eastern outreach of Islamic art and civilisation: Mindanao island being significantly further east than even China – artwork from Islamic Southeast Asia remains chronically under-represented in the world’s major collections of Islamic art. PROVENANCE / ACQUISITION Acquired from highly reputable auction house, Austin Auction Gallery, established 1983, Austin, Texas. References Brownrigg, H., Betel Cutters...

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...

This highly decorative box is a betal nut box. The habit of chewing was relevant in the southern Philippines and much of southeast Asia. Wealthy Maraneo families on the island of Mi...

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...

An exquisite example of Burmese artistry, this palm-sized container dates to the late 19th century and was likely originally used as a betel box (kun-it). A blend of betel leaves, ar...

Antique Philippine Brass and Copper Betel Nut Box. The top lifts to reveal 2 hinged compartments that held the betel leaf and areca nut. Inlaid in c...

A 1960s hand painted papier mâché box with a domed top from Kashmir India. The box is orange and gold hand painted papier mâché with a white interior the bottom is black.  

This petite brass box was originally part of an early 20th century betel box set from Indonesia, one of several small containers that held the individual ingredients of a betel quid....