The unique sarcophagus shape has many red fabric slots within which can be used for tea or jewelry, with a key attached to a tassel that fits into the lock shaped like a brass escutcheon on the front. A rounded handle on the two shorter sides, and four rounded feet supporting it. 

size: 12 1/2 x 8 1/4 x 3 1/4 in. 

A tea caddy is a box, jar, canister, or other receptacle used to store tea. When first introduced to Europe from Asia, tea was extremely expensive, and kept under lock and key. The containers used were often highly decorative, to fit in with the rest of a drawing-room or other reception area. The word is believed to be derived from catty, the Chinese pound. The earliest examples that came to Europe were of Chinese porcelain, and similar in shape to the ginger-jar. They had Chinese-style lids or stoppers, and were most frequently blue and white. Until roughly 1800 they were commonly called tea canisters. By the Georgian era in England the caddy came in countless shapes, designs, and materials, reflecting a growing artistic appreciation for functional sculpting. 

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