Exceptional Tortoise and Mother of Pearl Tea Caddy

Chippendale tea caddy, c1770, burl veneered mahogany paneled front and sides with cross banded border raised on original ball and claw cast brass feet. The two interior compartments,...

Sterling silver tea pot by William Plummer, London, circa 1797. The oval shape has half reeded, fluted decoration on the body, top and curved spout. The lid with an ‘invisible’ hinge...

The hinged rectangular top with three oval Signed Wedgwood plaques depicting putti at various pursuits within oval paterae mounted swagged and beaded borders, opening to a morocco leather lined hinged slope enclosing a well, the upper section fitted with candlesticks and compartmentalized for inkwells, above a hinged lid the front with a spring loaded secret drawer opening to a needle or pincushion and spools of thread. This unusual work box, mounted with blue and white jasperware signed Wedgwood plaques, is English in conception. The writing box was a popular form first used in the 18th c and well into the 19th c for traveling. This type of portable desk was described by the English poet William Cowper in 1785 as 'the most elegant, the compactest, the most commodious desk in the world.' Additionally, the jasperware plaques, came from Josiah Wedgwood's factory in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. Its proximity to the steel manufacturing city of Birmingham, the birthplace of Matthew Boulton, producer of decorative metalwork (including cut steel mounts) and described by his friend and fellow-industrialist, Josiah Wedgwood, as 'the first Manufacturer in England', certainly suggests an English origin and possibly his handwork. However, the polished steel mounts are also typical of furniture and objects made in Tula, Russia, where the Imperial Arms Factory was founded by Peter the Great in the early 18th c and which later became known for its decorative objects, including furniture and domestic pieces. Catherine the Great, Empress of Russia, ordered the 'Frog Service...

French 19th c paper covered box with what appears to be a 3D diorama of the Strasbourg cathedral under a glass covered top. These paper boxes were de...

Regency Sarcophagus Shaped Box with Fan Inlaid Front, a Fitted Interior and Mirrored Lid, c1810. The top has an oval inlaid burl insert. The interior fitted with lift out, divided tr...

This handsome little oak chest has many of the same details of its larger counterparts. The bow fronted conforming top sits on three bowed drawers all with original brass pulls and e...

An exceptional, fine and impressive antique Dutch silver tea caddy; an addition to our silver teaware collection This exceptional Dutch silver tea caddy has been realistically modelled in the form of a classic antique wine cooler...

An early 19th century mother of pearl and abalone tea caddy with original key. There's a wonderful abalone starburst on the top of the box and ivory bun feet. England, early 19th cen...

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...

A 20th Century Hand Painted Hinged Lidded Tea Caddy In The Shape Of An Apple With A Metal Patinated Stalk

A Sarcophagus Shaped Regency Rosewood, Brass Tea Caddy With Two Separate Tea Compartments and Individual Handled Lids, Centred on Four Bun Feet Circa 1700's Great patina embellishi...

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...