Marquetry tea caddy

The familiar daily ‘cuppa’ has a long history. Tea is native to East Asia, where for thousands of years people steeped the plant in hot water to produce a medicinal drink. British people gained a taste for tea in the 17th century, but it was scarcer and more expensive than coffee. After 1713, the East India Company began to import tea direct from Canton and tea-drinking really took off in Britain.

A fine marquetry chest like this was used to keep tea under lock and key because tea was so valuable in the Georgian period. The skilled woodworking techniques also reflect the high value of the contents. The appetite for products such as tea drove Britain’s global expansion and colonialism.

Visual description: An ornate marquetry chest made of mahogany and satinwood. The surface is smooth and polished with a reddish-brown tone and fine grain. The sides are decorated with lighter ovals surrounded by a wreath of leaves. Two evenly spaced ovals are inlaid on the longer sides and the lid. On the shorter sides, a single oval is in the centre. When the box is opened, two more ovals are inside the lid.

The interior has two sections. Each contains a square box that can be removed. The square boxes have hinged round lids decorated with an oval of lighter wood. The tops are polished wood, but the sides are matte.