A luxurious amboina tea chest with silver mounts and tea caddies

A luxurious amboina tea chest with silver mounts and tea caddies

Of rectangular section, raised on silver combined ball and claw feet, the stepped, sarcophagus-shaped, hinged cover with ebony borders, the silver lock plate decorated with branches and a garland, the cover surmounted by a silver swing handle applied with rocaille ornament, the inside containing two rectangular silver tea caddies, of which the upper rims are engraved with foliate decoration, alternated by small ribbon-tied bows, along the smooth cover a beaded border, surrounding a handle decorated with flowers, foliage and small branches. In the centre there is a sugar can with identical engravings, the hinged cover with flower ornament as handle.

The first recorded shipment of tea by a European nation was in 1607 when the Dutch East India Company moved a cargo of tea from Macao to Java, then two years later, the Dutch bought the first assignment of tea which was from Hirado in Japan to be shipped to Europe. Initially tea became a fashionable drink in The Hague before it was passed on to other cities, and the Dutch introduced the drink to Germany, France, and across the Atlantic to New Amsterdam (New York). Drinking tea was a habit that slowly developed among the upper class circles of society in the last quarter of the 17th century. Since tea was a very expensive commodity its preciousness was emphasised by the first silver tea caddies, that were manufactured around the 1680s. Only in the second half of the 18th century the drinking of tea in a larger company became more popular. Luxuriously designed tea chests were presented containing several cannisters for tea and sugar, in some cases even with a beautifully pierced basket for jams.

It is remarkable that the oldest known tea chests demonstrate an evenly exotic exposure as tea itself. The Rijksmuseum has a tea casket in its collection glued with tortoiseshell, dated 1756. Another example is a casket from 1768, which is decorated with chinoiserie in mother-of-pearl. The present casket may be reckoned to this tradition, with its wood originating from Ambon.