Antique Brass Tea Caddy
18th Century Dutch Baroque Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
Late 18th Century European Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
19th Century Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Lacquer
Early 19th Century English Regency Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
19th Century English Regency Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
Early 20th Century Chinoiserie Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
19th Century English Regency Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
19th Century British Anglo-Indian Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
Early 20th Century English Edwardian Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Mahogany
Early 19th Century European Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
19th Century English Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
19th Century English Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
19th Century English Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Crystal, Brass
Early 19th Century English Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
Mid-18th Century English George II Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Wood
18th Century British George III Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
Late 19th Century English Victorian Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
19th Century Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
Early 18th Century Welsh Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
Early 19th Century English George III Antique Brass Tea Caddy
19th Century Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
Late 19th Century Chinese Chinoiserie Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
19th Century British William IV Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
19th Century English Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Tortoise Shell
1820s English George III Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Mahogany
Mid-18th Century English George III Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
19th Century English Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
Mid-18th Century Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
19th Century Chinese Regency Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
Late 18th Century English Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
18th Century and Earlier English Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
19th Century British Regency Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
Early 19th Century English Early Victorian Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
Early 1800s English George III Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass, Foil
19th Century Antique Brass Tea Caddy
19th Century English Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
1860s English Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
19th Century French Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
19th Century English Regency Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
19th Century Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Zinc, Brass
18th Century and Earlier Danish Rococo Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
Early 19th Century English Georgian Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Palisander
Early 19th Century English Georgian Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Palisander
Late 19th Century European Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Wood
19th Century English Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
1880s English Japonisme Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
19th Century English Regency Antique Brass Tea Caddy
19th Century English Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
19th Century English Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
19th Century English Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
19th Century British Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
19th Century English Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
1840s English William IV Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
19th Century French Belle Époque Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
1790s English Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Mahogany
Mid-19th Century English Gothic Revival Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
19th Century European Antique Brass Tea Caddy
Brass
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Antique Brass Tea Caddy For Sale on 1stDibs
How Much is a Antique Brass Tea Caddy?
Finding the Right Tea-caddies for You
There are lots of uses for your vintage, new or antique tea caddies, but they can certainly serve their original intended purpose if needed.
When tea first gained popularity during the 1800s, and teatime became commonplace in homes all over England, it was an expensive commodity owing to excessive taxation. (This, of course, inevitably yielded a black market for tea leaves.) Tea drinkers hoarded their precious goods, which began to arrive in London ports from China during the 17th century, under lock and key. In luxury homes, tea leaves were stowed away in a decorative jar or canister called a tea caddy that was fitted with a lock, or, alternatively, the container was kept in a secured chest or storage cabinet.
Tea was thought to be not just a delicious drink but also to have medicinal benefits. The Chinese had been praising the healthy properties of tea, and wealthy Europeans were eager to discover its benefits for themselves during their ritual afternoon tea. The idea of “teatime” wasn’t a social event in upper-class British homes until the 1830s or 1840s. During Queen Victoria’s reign, small baked treats might be served with your beverage, and teakettles and coffeepots were part of tea services that could include teacups, saucers, a milk pot and other accessories.
When tea cultivation was relegated to British colonies such as India, and the British East India Company could no longer hold onto its trade monopoly with China, tea was no longer a ritual confined to the wealthy. Today, antique and vintage tea caddies are collector’s items all over the world.
Tea caddies weren’t unique to Europeans. The earliest pieces originated in China. Surviving hand-painted examples from China or elsewhere in Asia made of porcelain might feature enameled landscapes or other designs. At the Taft Museum of Art, there are striking enameled 18th-century-era tea caddies of copper that were given to the institution in 2014. Wooden tea caddies materialized over time and were seen as sturdier than their ceramic counterparts.
Today, there are all kinds of ways to use a vintage tea caddy if you’re passing on tea. They’re a welcome decorative flourish on the mantel in your living room, for example. A metal tea caddy, lined with a plastic bag, can be used to cultivate an herb garden on your kitchen windowsill. An old wooden tea caddy can help keep your paper clips or pushpins organized on your desk too. If you’re always on the go, a tea tin is good for packing earbuds, hand sanitizer, gum or whatever else that might get easily lost in a roomy crossbody messenger bag or other shoulder bag.
Teatime or not, find antique and vintage mid-century modern tea caddies, tortoiseshell caddies and more on 1stDibs.
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