Object Description
A Charming And Extremely Rare Regency Period 19th Century Partridge Wood Tea Caddy, Of Incredibly Small Proportions, Having Elegant Pagoda Shaped Top Enclosing Lined Interior Raised On Original Brass Ball Feet.
This is one of the smallest tea caddies we have ever seen. It also really is very charming indeed. The shape has real elegance and the overall package is just so very rare.
Partridge wood is a wood imported from South America towards the end of the 18th and early 19th centuries. Available in particularly small sheets it was almost exclusively used in cross banded, or inlaid decorations or for very small decorative boxes and similar. The name Partridge wood is taken from the grain of the wood, which due to its very wide contrasting bands resembles the wing of a partridge. In tree form this wood would be more commonly known as angelim or cabbagebark.
This is certainly one for the collection of any serious tea caddy, or rare English furniture and accessories collectors.
Tea was a precious commodity throughout the 18th and 19th centuries and the purpose of a tea caddy was not just to preserve the and extend the life of the precious tea leaves, but also to enable the owner to lock away those aforementioned valuable tea leaves, keeping them safe from the house staffs potential wandering hands.
This Regency tea caddy comes with a fully functioning lock and key, plus has been cleaned and traditionally waxed polished in our workshops before being offered for sale.
Circa 1820.
Height 4in.
Width 5.75in.
Depth 3in.