Description

Penwork Tea Chest beautifully decorated with chinoiserie figures in oriental gardens with further floral patterns around the top and sides. The tea chest has brass lion pad feet and lion mask carrying handles.
Lifted the ruched velvet backed lid reveals two removable tea caddies again beautifully decorated with penwork figures, and to the centre is its original cut glass sugar bowl.

This tea Chest comes with a fully working lock and tasselled key.

Penwork, or Pen and Ink, was used on boxes to illustrate beautiful scenes and sometimes to record a visit to a foreign country or vacation. They can feature people, landscapes, birds, insects, plants, flowers, animals and some have prints of greek mythology or of spa towns. These were all drawn very exact and beautifully finished with a shellac varnish. Some penwork would of been commissioned to professional artists, but the majority favoured pass-time of ladies (the ladies were often skilled in the technique as the professionals!) It’s because of this that we see many different examples of Penwork.

More information on Tea Caddies can be found on our Historypage.

Additional information