Object Description
This very lovely antique silver George III double tea caddy is of oval form. The caddy has a fluted base with a delightfully engraved border above, which contains a vacant shield cartouche. The fluting is mirrored on the handle.
The caddy has two hinged compartments and the lids are also engraved. It was made when tea was expensive and it had a lock on each compartment.
Dimensions: height 19.5 cm, width 15.5 cm
The word “caddy” was derived from the Malaysian work “kati”, meaning approximately one and one fifth of a pound in weight. The cost of tea during the 17th century was high – 40 shillings per pound in 1664 – but much higher in price when heavily taxed in the 18th century; that is why a lot of the caddies made between 1760 – 1810 are fitted with a lock and key.