Tea caddy with a green brown glaze
c. 1700 - c. 1850
Medium
turning
Dimensions
4.3; 7.7; 6.5; 3.8; 0.6; 4.5; 7.5
About this artwork
theebus: hoogte 7,5 cm (zonder deksel)
Art Historical Context
This delicate tea caddy, standing at 7.7 cm tall, exemplifies everyday elegance from the 18th and early 19th centuries (c. 1700–1850). Crafted anonymously by a skilled artisan, its green-brown glaze lends a subtle, earthy sheen to the lathe-turned wooden form—known in Dutch as a *theebus*. The compact height, measured at 7.5 cm without its lid, made it ideal for storing precious tea leaves in prosperous households. Tea caddies like this surged in popularity across Europe as tea imports from Asia fueled a burgeoning luxury trade. In the Netherlands, where tea drinking became a social ritual, t...