Antique English Victorian Silver on Copper Tea Caddy - Gross 10.645 ozt.

Oval body with a classic chased pattern on the front below the keyhole and a bell-like top handle. The number "4306" is etched into the bottom. 

Condition: Commensurate with age. 

Size: 4 1/2 x 4 3/4 x 3 1/2 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.

Commensurate with age. 

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