Description

Collection of rare early 19th century continental fruit tea caddies with superb colour and patination.

Front row:Pear Tea Caddy:
Treen Pear Tea Caddy with fantastic shape, colour, and patination. This fabulous Pear Tea Caddy has a oval cut steel escutcheon, lock and hinge and is adorned with a realistic shaped ebonised stalk. Inside the antique Pear tea caddy still retains most of its original tin foil lining and comes with a fully working lock and tasselled key. To view this caddy click HEREApple Tea Caddy:
Tea Caddy in the shape of an apple with turned button stalk, has ornate steel escutcheon, hinge and lock and has a lovely colour and patination. To view this caddy click HERESquash Tea Caddy:
Extremely Rare Squash Tea Caddy with a beautiful dark mottled colour, lovely patination, and has a wonderful original squared stalk only seen on this type of fruit tea caddy. Often mistaken for melons, it is the squared stalk that is the distinguishing feature of the squash. To view this caddy click HERERear Row:Melon Tea Caddy:
Fruitwood Melon Tea Caddy with a fantastic green and brown mottled decoration featuring a steel lock, hinge and oval escutcheon. The melon tea caddy has superb colour and patination and would be a prized piece in any ones collection. To view this caddy click HEREBlush Pear Tea Caddy:
Beautiful shaped Pear Tea Caddy with wonderful vibrant red blushing to its body having a realistic wooden stalk, with steel hinge, lock and ornate escutcheon. The antique Pear tea caddy still has traces of tin lining and has a working lock with tasselled key. To view this caddy click HEREUnusual Fruit Caddy:
Very rare caddy with small creases to the top projecting from the stalk. Has a dark mottled exterior similar to melon caddies. With steel escutcheon, lock and hinges.To view this caddy click HEREAll our items come with authentication certificate with image, as well as our latest catalogue, how to look after your antique booklet, care instructions and separate invoice for insurance purposes. On top of this our items come with 14 day no quibble money back guarantee and are all fully insured for when shipping.

We are passionate about tea caddies and are the UK’s pre-eminent and leading antique box specialists. Tea Caddies are noted for the variety of different shapes and sizes made using exotic woods, tortoiseshell, ivory, horn and shagreen. They make a wonderful decorative and functional heirloom in any modern or traditional home.

THE HISTORY OF ANTIQUE TEA CADDIES
In England in the 1700s, tea was an expensive commodity. To keep it safe, people would store it in a lockable Tea Chest or Tea Box, which eventually became known as a Tea Caddy (the word caddy is derived from the Malay “kati”, a unit of weight by which tea was sold). As tea was too expensive to risk leaving in the presence of servants, the caddy would be kept in the drawing room. Subsequently, the Tea Caddy became an important & fashionable accessory for the home.

Tea Caddies were made in a huge variety of styles and materials. Some contained glass bowls. The bowl is believed to be either for sugar, or for the purpose of mixing different varieties of tea to the drinker’s personal taste.

As tea became cheaper in the early 1800s, its use was much more widespread, increasing the demand for tea caddies. However, by the late 1800s when tea could be bought pre-packed, the demand for tea caddies as functional items gradually declined.

Today Tea Caddies are sought after as decorative pieces, in all shapes & forms.

Shipping P.O.A. Subject to quotation and will be charged separately. Please contact us for more details. If purchasing online, the shipping price will be shown as zero here but you will be liable for all shipping costs.

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