Tea caddy

[2] At first, English manufacturers imitated the Chinese, but quickly devised forms and ornaments of their own, and most ceramic factories in the country competed for the supply of the new fashion.

The Chippendale company made caddies in the so-called Louis Quinze fashion, with claw-and-ball feet and exquisite finish.

The designs of the wooden caddies were rich, the inlay simple and delicate, the form graceful and unobtrusive.

Even when shaped like miniature sarcophagi, imitating the massive wine-coolers of the Empire style, with little claw feet and brass rings, they were regarded as pleasant.

This term was also applied to cube-shaped wooden crates used for exporting tea overseas; now, it denotes similar boxes chiefly associated with house removals.