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18th Century Scottish Horn and Polished Stone Tea Caddy

Offered by: Rockwell Antiques Dallas

Description
Presenting a beautiful and extremely rare 18th century Scottish horn and polished stone tea caddy. This is a piece of Scottish history!!
Made circa 1780. The caddy is constructed of polished cow horn, from a Highland Cow Horn, it is riveted together with pieces of bone.
In my opinion, this was a tea caddy as opposed to a simple sealed mini-barrel for powder or otherwise.
In the 18th century, tea was a very valuable and expensive commodity, it needed to be kept in a sealed container.
In England a tea caddy would be under lock and key from possible thieving servants, but in Scotland, with the feudal system of Lairds and their Clans, there was no necessity for the Laird to lock-up his tea, as none of his Clan would dare steal from him. Just think of the Laird in the TV Series outlander!!!
Therefore the caddy had to be functional, it had to seal the tea from the elements to keep it fresh and to avoid the dampness.
Decoration of Scottish pieces was kept simple, using materials from the locality, hence the use of horn and polished stones or semi-precious stones in the Highlands.
Shadow-ornament
The stone on the lid of this caddy appears to be a form of polished greenstone, probably 'Jewel of the Fae' from the Northwest Coast of Scotland, or 'Iona Stone'.
This would have belonged to a 'LAIRD' (LORD) ONLY as no ordinary Scot could afford tea in 1780!!!
The caddy is in good condition for its age and construction, .the lid has a repaired crack on the side, but otherwise it is great.
This is a rare and important caddy!!

More Information

Origin:	Scotland
Period:	18th Century
Materials:	Horn & Stone
Condition:	Good. Wear consistent with age and use. Minor structural damages. Repair to crack on lid. Otherwise, Mint.
Creation Date:	1760-80
Styles / Movements:	Traditional, George III, Jacobean
Patterns:	Traditional
Incollect Reference #:	416705