A tea poy is a standalone piece of furniture featuring a lidded storage compartment mounted on a central pillar and base. It served a similar function to a tabletop caddy but stood beside a chair or sofa in the drawing room. These pieces often included internal compartments for different tea varieties and sometimes incorporated a small mixing bowl for blending leaves.

How were caddies kept secure?

Victorian tea caddies were fitted with small brass or steel locks and supplied with matching keys. Because tea carried a high financial value in the nineteenth century, households kept the boxes locked between uses. Many surviving pieces still retain their original working locks and escutcheons, though keys are frequently lost over generations.

What is papier-mâché?

Papier-mâché is a composite material made from paper pulp or layers of paper bound with glue, resin and sometimes clay. Once dried and pressed into moulds, it formed a rigid, lightweight body that took black lacquer exceptionally well. Cabinetmakers decorated these surfaces with mother-of-pearl inlay, gilding and hand-painted details to create glossy, reflective storage boxes.

Why do some caddies have glass bowls?

The central glass bowl found inside many nineteenth-century tea caddies was designed for blending different tea leaves or holding sugar. Servants or hosts mixed the dry leaves before brewing, using the central vessel to combine varieties. These bowls were typically cut glass or crystal, resting snugly within a dedicated velvet-lined or wooden aperture.