An early 19th century Rosewood tea caddy with mother of pearl inlay of sarcophagus outline with a shallow domed hinged lid enclosing two lidded compartments with bone handles and raised on squat bun feet. A really nice early example. The caddy is supplied with a key, it fits but does not turn the lock. Some minor chips in the veneer but generally in good, clean and presentable condition.
 
In England in the 18th and early 19th centuries tea was seen as an exotic commodity and was certainly expensive, it would have been kept in a locked caddy under the control of the lady of the house, protected from casual theft by the servants and dispensed sparingly and with great ritual, this caddy is an excellent example. As the caddy was a social status symbol under the close scrutiny of visitors to the house, caddies such as these were made to the very highest standards of the cabinet makers art. Eventually new sources of tea became available from Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) and India and so the containers became larger as the product reduced in price. 
 
The measurements are 22 x 13 x 14cm (8.66” x 5.12” x 5.51”).