A PAIR OF GEORGE III SILVER TEA CADDIES AND MATCHING SUGAR BOX IN FISH SKIN CASE

The covering of the the case, which resembles shagreen is made of the skin of the fish Squalus Acanthias, commonly known as the spiny dogfish, therefore, unlike traditional shagreen, which was usually made from shark or ray skin in the 18th century, it is not subject to CITES regulations.

The B and G engraved on the covers of the two caddies refers to the two most common varieties in of tea in the 18th century, black (bohea) and green (vidris). As is evident from the present lot and other sets in the sale, these cases usually contained two caddies, for the two differing types of tea and a third canister for sugar, sometimes of differing dimensions. Jonathan Swift (1667-1745), the Anglo-Irish satirist and author refers specifically to 'the Invention of small Chests and Trunks, with Lock and Key, wherein they keep the Tea and Sugar' in his 1745 Directions to the Waiting Maid, chapter 9, p. 395. He scurriously advises the house maid to procure a 'false key' to gain access to the costly and exotic contents, otherwise 'you are forced to buy brown Sugar, and pour Water upon the Leaves, when they have lost all their Spirit and Taste.'

It is thought the word caddy derives from the Malay word kati, a weight by which tea was sold equivalent to 1 1/5 lb., was adopted to describe the container for tea. Early tea 'caddies' or canisters were relatively small owing to the high cost of tea and often contained in a fitted, locked case.