PRESENTING A BEAUTIFUL AND EXTREMELY RARE 18th Century Scottish Horn and Polished Stone Tea Caddy or Tobacco Jar.

This is a piece of Scottish history !!

Made circa 1740-60.

The caddy is constructed of polished cow horn, from a Highland Cow Horn and it is riveted together with pieces of bone.

In my opinion, this was a tea caddy or a tobacco jar, as opposed to a simple sealed mini-jar for powder or otherwise.

In the early 18th Century, tea and indeed, tobacco were very valuable and expensive commodities and they needed to be kept in sealed container(s).

In England and Ireland, a tea caddy would be under lock and key, from possible thieving servants, but in Scotland, with the feudal system of Lairds and their Clans prior to the Jacobite Uprising of 1745, there was no necessity for the Laird to lock-up his tea, as none of his Clan would dare steal from him. Just think of the Laird, in the TV Series ‘Outlander’ !!!

Therefore the Caddy had to be functional. It had to seal the tea/tobacco from the elements to keep it fresh and to avoid the dampness.

Decoration of Scottish pieces was kept simple, using materials from the locality, hence the use of horn and polished stones or semi-precious stones in the Highlands.

The stone on the lid of this caddy appears to be a form of polished greenstone, probably ‘Jewel of the Fae’ from the Northwest Coast of Scotland or ‘Iona Stone’.

This would have belonged to a ‘LAIRD’ (LORD) ONLY as no ordinary Scot could afford tea/tobacco in 1740 !!!

The caddy is in good condition for its age and construction. The lid has a repaired crack on the side, but otherwise it is GREAT !!

This is a RARE and IMPORTANT caddy !!!

A tea caddy is a box, jar, canister, or other receptacle used to store tea.

The word is believed to be derived from catty, the Chinese pound, equal to about a pound and a third avoirdupois. The earliest examples that came to Europe were of Chinese porcelain, and approximated in shape to the ginger-jar. They had lids or stoppers likewise of china, and were most frequently blue and white. Until about 1800 they were called tea canisters rather than caddies.[1]

Earlier tea caddies were made of either porcelain or faience. Later designs had more variety in materials and designs. Wood, pewter, tortoiseshell, brass, copper and even silver were employed, but in the end the material most frequently used was wood, and there still survive vast numbers of Georgian box-shaped caddies in mahogany, rosewood, satin-wood and other timbers. These were often mounted in brass and delicately inlaid, with knobs of ivory, ebony or silver. Many examples were made in Holland, principally of the earthenware of Delft. There were also many English factories producing high quality goods.

As the use of the jar waned and the box increased, the provision of different receptacles for green and black tea was abandoned, and the wooden caddy, with a lid and a lock, was made with two and often three divisions, the centre portion being reserved for sugar. In the late 18th and early 19th century, caddies made from mahogany and rosewood were popular.

The larger varieties were known as tea chests. As tea grew cheaper there was less concern with the appearance of caddies, and as a result they fell out of use.

The use of “tea caddy” instead of “biscuit tin” fell out of use in the early 1900s.

Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tea_caddy

18C Scottish Horn and Polished Stone Tea/Tobacco Caddy.

Provenance: Bought privately in the UK.

Dimensions: 6″ tall and 4.25″ diameter at top (lid),

Condition: The caddy is in good condition for its age and construction. The lid has a repaired crack on the side, but otherwise it is GREAT !

SALE PRICE NOW: $1,800

18C Scottish Horn & Polished Stone Tea Caddy

18C Scottish Horn & Polished Stone Tea Caddy

18C Scottish Horn & Polished Stone Tea Caddy

18C Scottish Horn & Polished Stone Tea Caddy

18C Scottish Horn & Polished Stone Tea Caddy

18C Scottish Horn & Polished Stone Tea Caddy

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