A Rare Partridgewood, Late 18th Century Georgian Tea Caddy, Of Octagonal Form Having Attractive Inlaid Decoration And Hinged Lid Enclosing Two Lidded Divisions.Partridge wood is a timber imported from South America towards the end of the 18th and early 19th centuries. Available in particularly small sheets it was almost exclusively used in cross banded, or inlaid decorations or for very small decorative boxes and similar. The name Partridge wood is taken from the grain of the wood, which due to its very wide contrasting bands resembles the wing of a partridge. In tree form this wood would be more commonly known as angelim or cabbagebark.Tea was a precious commodity throughout the 18th and 19th centuries and the purpose of a tea caddy was not just to preserve the and extend the life of the precious tea leaves, but also to enable the owner to lock away those aforementioned valuable tea leaves, keeping them safe from the house staffs potential wandering hands.This particular G...