Islamic Tea Caddies

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

Early 19th century mahogany single tea caddy from England. This wonderful box is octagonal in shape and has been newly hand painted to resemble a Georgia house. It is delightful, n...

The (wh)ORE HAüS STUDIOS small goods collection was made for those that wanted to experience the (wh)ORE HAüS brand without committing to our larger pieces. Our Brass Vessel Set with...

Set of two vintage toleware painted tin tea caddy boxes with paw feet. Yellow one marked “Made in Italy 71.”. Circa 1970s after styles from Italy and...

In many southeast Asian cultures, offering guests a betel quid to chew was the fundamental symbol of hospitality. A blend of leaves, nuts, seasonings, and sometimes tobacco, betel was kept in finely worked and decorated boxes. This round betel box...

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

19th Century Persian Papier Mache Hand Painted Trinket Box Covered in hand painted detail and illustrations, this 19th Century Persian trinket...

Set of Brass Apple Jewelry Boxes 1970s. These apple-shaped boxes are entirely made of solid brass. Each box opens in two and allows for a very decor...

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.  

Vintage South Asian / Kashmir hand painted papier mâché box with removeable lid - featuring a profuse floral pattern over the top and sides set against a black lacquer background - h...

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...

This storage/jewelry box is hand painted with flowers and features a unique latch. This Piece has nice patina and character. Vintage Condition as pictured. Listing is for described i...