Sterling Silver Locking Tea Caddy - Antique George III (1780)

Description

This exceptional antique Georgian sterling silver tea caddy has a cylindrical form.

The upper and lower portions of this locking silver tea caddy is embellished with bands of bright cut engraved floral bud designs; further vertical bands segment the body into five equal portions, each encompassed with undulating wrigglework borders.

The anterior portion of the body is ornamented with a bright cut engraved rectangular cut cornered cartouche encompassed with a radiating simplified floral and scrolling foliate decoration and featuring the contemporary engraved crest of a lion's head collared and erased.

The further four segments bear Chinoiserie bright cut engraved Chinese symbols representing the four seasons: spring (春 / chun), summer (夏 / xia), autumn (秋 / qiu) and winter (冬 / dong).

This antique silver tea caddy retains the original hallmarked flush hinged cover; the flush hinge indicates the fine quality of this piece.

The cover is encompassed with further bands of bright cut engraved decoration, reflecting the designs to the body.

This impressive cover is surmounted with the original, exceptional carved wood and sterling silver pineapple style finial, securing to the interior with a screw fitment.

The caddy is fitted with the original locking mechanism.

This exceptional example of Georgian silverware features a rare design and is the finest of its type you could hope to acquire.

Read a brief history of antique silver tea caddies