Tea Caddy thumbnail 1
Not on display

Tea Caddy

1929-1939 (manufactured)
Artist/Maker
Unknown (manufacturers)
Place of origin
England (manufactured)

Tea caddy made from brown Bakelite, the cannister-shaped body rests on three pointed feet. There is a band of vertical ribs near the base and around the edge of the lid. It is marked on the side with the word 'Tea' in script within a cartouche. The screw-on lid has a central dome and four angled wings with cartouches between.

Object details

Categories
Plastic
Containers
Household Objects
Object type
Tea caddy
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Tea Canister Body
  • Teapot Canister Cover
Materials and techniques
Compression-moulded Bakelite
Bakelite
Phenolic
Compression Moulding
Brief description
Tea caddy with lid; brown Bakelite; unknown manufacturer, probably England, late-1920s-1930s
Physical description
Tea caddy made from brown Bakelite, the cannister-shaped body rests on three pointed feet. There is a band of vertical ribs near the base and around the edge of the lid. It is marked on the side with the word 'Tea' in script within a cartouche. The screw-on lid has a central dome and four angled wings with cartouches between.
Dimensions
  • Width: 10.7cm
  • Height: 6.7cm
  • Height: 14.1cm
Style
Art Deco
Production typeMass produced
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'Tea' (Moulded on side)
  • 'REGISTRATION APPLIED FOR; BRITISH MAKE'
Object history
Fred Bulmer, a collector based in Leeds, Yorkshire, offered his collection of ‘plastic antiques’ to the V&A in late 1982. The Museum chose to purchase 59 objects from Bulmer the following year (for acquisition papers see MA/1/B3395). The objects were divided among the Museum’s collections according to object type: Furniture and Woodwork taking 26 objects (W.50 to 75-1983), Metalwork 18 objects (M.49 to 66-1984) and Ceramics and Glass 14 objects (C.41 to 54-1984).
Historical context
Similar cannisters were also available marked 'coffee' and 'sugar'.
Bibliographic reference
p.56 Sylvia Katz, Plastics (London, 1978)
Collection
Ceramics Collection
Accession number
C.50-1984

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O308733/tea-caddy-unknown/
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