Description

Rare silk embroidered tea caddy with gilded framed glass panels, ornate silver handle and oval escutcheon. Each side has beautifully detailed fine silk embroidery depicting floral cornucopia urns.

The interior of this antique silk embroidered tea caddy features two Mahogany brass handled floating lids and still retains some of their original tin foil lining.

This georgian silk embroidered tea caddy comes with a fully working lock and tasselled key. The key must be turned clockwise to unlock.

All our items come with authentication certificate with image, as well as our latest catalogue, 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.

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 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 in which it was stored would generally 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 disappeared.

Today Tea Caddies are sought after as decorative pieces, in all shapes & forms.
Purchasing a Tea Caddy / Tea Chest from us you can be satisfied that they have been carefully examined and assessed, and only restored where absolutely necessary.

All boxes at Mark Goodger Antiques are professionally restored using traditional skills all by hand. Purchasing a box from us you can be satisfied in thinking that they have been carefully looked over and only restored where necessary. Buying a box from us gives you piece of mind you are buying an original item, and from a dealer who belongs to three leading trade associations and abides by all their strict conducts of code. Mark Goodger is a BADA,CADA & LAPADA Member so you can buy with confidence.

Additional information