Lot 104
AN ANGLO-INDIAN VIZAGAPATAM IVORY-VENEERED TEA CADDY Y
CENTRAL INDIA, CIRCA 1760
Auction: 10 June 2026 from 14:00 BST
Description
rectangular box made of sandalwood with hinged lid, veneered in ivory with lac highlights, depicting a tree of life on the lid, the interior with divided compartments
Dimensions
13.7cm x 22.5cm x 12.5cm
Provenance
Lieutenant-General Sir Eyre Coote, K.B (1726-1783), then; General, Sir Eyre Coote (1762-1823) Nephew, then; Sir Charles Henry Coote, 9th Baronet Coote (1794-1864), then; George Lionel Jameson, O.B.E (1880-1961).
Hamilton & Hamilton Auctioneers, Rahemy park contents, 15th - 16th November, 1961.
Acquired from the above by Honorable Garech Browne (1939--2018), Luggala House.
Mealy's, Luggala, County Wicklow, 2nd May 2006, Lot 171.
Acquired from the above; Private collection, Ireland.
Sir Eyre Coote (1726–1783) was a leading British general who helped secure early British rule in India. He fought at Plassey and won the decisive Battle of Wandiwash against the French. Later, as Commander‑in‑Chief in India, he defeated Hyder Ali at Porto Novo. He also served as a Member of Parliament and was made a Knight of the Bath. Coote died in Madras after a long and intense military career.
Footnote
Tea’s rising popularity in seventeenth‑ and eighteenth‑century England led to the creation of specialised tea‑drinking accessories. Because tea was costly, caddies were made with locks and fitted with separate canisters for black and green tea. The word caddy which replaced tea chest in the late eighteenth century comes from kati, a Malay‑Javanese weight of about 625 grams used in the Asian tea trade. Vizagapatam became a major centre for producing these luxury caddies, its artisans catering to the demands of the East India Company.
Literature:
A. Jaffer, Furniture from India & Ceylon, 2001 V&A publications. Furniture decorated in similar manner or illustrated as no. 41 & 42.
Please be aware that this lot contains material which may be subject to import/export restrictions, especially outside the EU, due to CITES regulations. Please note it is the buyer's sole responsibility to obtain any relevant export or import licence. For more information visit http://www.defra.gov.uk/ahvla-en/imports-exports/cites/
Sold in compliance with UK Government and APHA regulations, with (non-transferable) exemption registration reference ~ TBC