I assume it to be 19th century and I assume it to be an actual original antique item from presumably China however I have absolutely no evidence of this other than looking at the item itself. Moreover, I have absolutely no expertise in tea caddies or Chinese antiques or Chinese artifacts of any kind. A beautiful early 19th Century? Adorned with black lacquer and gold chinoiserie decorations to all sides (In varying states of condition as to feasibility from close to excellent condition very visible to somewhat faded end please keep in mind that made no attempt to clean this item whatsoever right down to the fact that there is actually still some loose tea in the caddies). Tea Chest interior features two removable Tutenag?? Caddies both with ornate engraved tops and lids. There is some general wear and tear to the gold decoration and the lacquer work on the corners. Interior caddies are functional, but I removed them to photograph specifically because I do not understand how they could be so extremely dented but both of them are. Keep in mind there is a wooden box with a lid, inside of which are two silver colored possibly silver or some other metal caddies, and each caddy has a lid and a cover so each caddy is actually comprised of three separate pieces the exterior lid the interior lid and the caddy itself and the caddies themselves are extremely dented they still fit in the box but it looks like someone took a hammer to them. I do not have a key to the lock, and although I cannot see any reason why it shouldn’t the lid does not close fully as it should. You can see in one of the photos how the lid does not close completely. Please note that this is vintage/antique and will show signs of wear and tear commensurate with use and age. I try to detail and photograph any imperfections and would ask that you study the photographs carefully. This item is in the category “Collectibles\Cultures & Ethnicities\Asian\1900-Now\Chinese\Other Chinese Collectibles”. The seller is “abefroman1999″ and is located in this country: US. This item can be shipped to United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Denmark, Romania, Slovakia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Estonia, Greece, Portugal, Cyprus, Slovenia, Sweden, Belgium, France, Ireland, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Italy, Germany, Austria, Bahamas, Mexico, Switzerland, Norway, Ukraine, Croatia, Republic of, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Kitts-Nevis, Saint Lucia, Montserrat, Turks and Caicos Islands, Barbados, Bermuda, Bolivia, French Guiana, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Guadeloupe, Iceland, Jersey, Cayman Islands, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Martinique, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Uruguay.
- Handmade: Yes
- Modified Item: No
- Country/Region of Manufacture: China
