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Tea Caddy, Silver, Kolkata, West Bengal, Eastern India, ca.1810-1820.

REGISTERED ANTIQUITY – NON-EXPORTABLE ITEM.

 

Object Details

 

This silverware was likely produced in early 19th-century Calcutta. The Lion finial on top attracts the  viewer’s eye. The lion appears victorious, alert, and progressing. Lion is a symbol of power used worldwide. Here it denotes the British culture of heraldic lion symbolism. The afternoon tea in British customs was often accompanied by an elaborate setup for tea making, serving, and drinking. Tea caddy was part of this tea setup. A tea caddy is a container to store tea leaves. In many regions of India, tea leaves are still stored and sold in metal- covered boxes. The shine of silver and the craftwork on the body make this particular tea caddy unique.

 

‘Tea’ and ‘caddy’ make the word tea caddy. Tea is an English word, while caddy comes from kati, a Malay word, denoting a measurement used in the tea trade of the region. England imported porcelain jars from China, which were called tea caddies. The British Museum has many 19th-century Chinese porcelain tea caddies. An animal finial at the top of a tea caddy might have arrived from the very tradition of Chinese porcelain tea caddies, which gave birth to the term caddy. Animal finials were widely adopted in all traditions of Indian silverware during the 19th century. Kutch, Madras, and Calcutta all embraced the animal finial design. Vidya Dehejia’s book Delight in Design : Indian Silver for the Raj show the use of animal finials in drawings of many silverwares.

 

 

Provenance

 

From a Private Collection in Mumbai, India.

 

Condition

 

Good Condition with minor wear, light scratches.

 

Dimension

 


Weight –

 

 

Literature Comparison

 

1.Marks, Tasha, In celebration of Afternoon Tea week, food historian Tasha Marks explores the history of the much-loved afternoon treat.British Museum Blog, 14 August 2020 https://www.britishmuseum.org/blog/tea-rific-history-victorian-afternoon-tea

 

2.Caddy, Britanica https://www.britannica.com/technology/caddy

 

3.Dehejia, Vidya. Delight in Design: Indian Silver for the Raj. Ahmedabad: Mapin Publishing, 2008. (Pp-41, 44)

 

4.Tea caddy (Porcelain) https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/A_Franks-848-

 

 

 

 

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