How do I clean the inside of my caddy?

Brush out any loose tea dust with a soft, dry cloth. You want to avoid using water or silver polish on the interior surfaces. If the original gilding survives, harsh chemicals will strip it away. Just leave the inside dry and empty.

My grandmother left me a silver tea caddy that has a very stiff hinge and the lid won't close properly, should I force it shut or get it repaired?

Never force a stuck hinge on a silver box. The metal is soft and will warp or tear if you put too much pressure on the joint. Take it to a silversmith who handles antique pieces. They can ease the pin and realign the flush hinge without damaging the surrounding metal. Once the lid warps, fixing the airtight seal becomes a much bigger job.

What is the small hole on the front for?

That hole is the keyhole for the lock. Most of these containers were made with internal locking mechanisms to secure the expensive tea inside. Finding an original working key is quite rare today.

I have a pair of these containers that look identical but one is slightly taller and wider than the other one, did they originally belong together as a matching set?

They most likely started life as a set. Boxed sets often contained a pair of caddies for black and green tea alongside a larger matching container. That bigger piece sat in the middle and held sugar. People also used the larger central container as a blending bowl to mix different tea leaves before brewing.

Home > Silver > Silver Tea Caddies > Page 3

Antique Silver Tea Caddies

← Page 3 of 7 →

Antique silver tea caddies are small, lockable metal containers made specifically to keep loose tea leaves dry and secure during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.