Tea Caddy
1780-1800 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Tea-drinking, introduced into Britain in the late 17th century, became widespread during the 18th century. Since tea caddies were placed on the table as tea was served, they were often highly decorative. A great variety of wooden caddies were made between 1780 and 1810 as tea became cheaper and more widely used. A. Hepplewhite & Co. published designs for both ‘tea caddies’ and ‘tea chests’, which were usually larger, in The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer’s Guide, 1788 (2nd edition 1789, 3rd Edition 1794). This caddy has naturalistic floral painted decoration on a dark ground, with a silver handle on the hinged lid.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
|
| Materials and techniques | Wood with painted decoration and metal handle |
| Brief description | Oval tea caddy with painted floral decoration on a dark ground, 1780-1800 |
| Physical description | Oval box with painted floral decoration on a dark ground and a metal loop handle on the hinged lid. The front has a floral spray with a central oval reserve enclosing a painting en grisaille (in shades of grey) of a vase of flowers. The sides are painted with an agave plant in an urn standing on a bracket hung with a swag of drapery. |
| Dimensions |
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| Styles | |
| Credit line | Given by Thomas Sutton, Esq., in memory of his wife |
| Historical context | Tea leaves were expensive, so were usually stored in lockable containers. Early tea containers were referred to as canisters, kept in locked boxes known as tea chests. Smaller wooden boxes with one or two fixed inner compartments for loose tea became popular from about 1780 onwards and by 1800 were generally known as tea caddies. The word 'caddy' is thought to derive from the Malay word for a measure of weight (kati) equivalent to about half a kilogram. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Tea-drinking, introduced into Britain in the late 17th century, became widespread during the 18th century. Since tea caddies were placed on the table as tea was served, they were often highly decorative. A great variety of wooden caddies were made between 1780 and 1810 as tea became cheaper and more widely used. A. Hepplewhite & Co. published designs for both ‘tea caddies’ and ‘tea chests’, which were usually larger, in The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer’s Guide, 1788 (2nd edition 1789, 3rd Edition 1794). This caddy has naturalistic floral painted decoration on a dark ground, with a silver handle on the hinged lid. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | W.69:1, 2-1919 |
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| Record created | March 19, 2007 |
| Record URL |
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