Documented Georgian /Sheraton Marquetry Tea Caddy, with Prince of Wales Feathers

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Documented Georgian Sheraton Period Marquetry Tea Caddy with Prince of Wales Feathers, Inscribed “E * S 1797,” England, circa 1795–1800

… Read more Documented Georgian Sheraton Period Marquetry Tea Caddy with Prince of Wales Feathers, Inscribed “E * S 1797,” England, circa 1795–1800

8 pieces: the Tea caddy box, the two caddy boxes, each one with two lids, plus the original working key

A finely executed English Sheraton-period tea caddy dating to the closing years of the 18th century, a moment when refined neoclassical taste dominated fashionable interiors during the era of the Prince of Wales, later King George IV. Constructed in richly toned mahogany and embellished with satinwood marquetry and delicate linear stringing, the caddy exemplifies the elegant restraint and precision associated with the late Georgian aesthetic.

The rectangular case is bordered by refined boxwood and a dark line inlay framing the lid and facade, a hallmark of Sheraton design vocabulary. The front is centered by a satinwood oval marquetry medallion depicting the Prince of Wales feathers, rendered in shaded woods against a harewood ground. This emblem—three ostrich plumes issuing from a coronet—was a fashionable decorative motif in Britain during the 1790s, reflecting the cultural influence of the Prince of Wales and the refined courtly taste associated with his circle.

The hinged lid opens to reveal a carefully fitted interior with two removable square tea caddies, each retaining its original fitted lid with oval burr wood panels. These interior containers were designed to store different varieties of tea—most commonly green and black tea—while protecting the contents from air and humidity. The inside of the lid is decorated with a finely inlaid satinwood oval panel depicting a naturalistic floral spray composed of carnation, honeysuckle, and lily forms, executed in dyed harewood and other contrasting veneers. Such botanical marquetry reflects the neoclassical fascination with nature and cultivated refinement found throughout Sheraton furniture design.

The underside of the lid interior rail bears the hand-inscribed cipher “E * S 1797,” likely recording the initials of an early owner and the year of acquisition. Or it could be an unknown master cabinet maker. Surviving with the caddy is an early 20th-century dealer document, a sales receipt from Judge Jeffreys’ Lodgings, Dorchester, dated June 12, 1929, certifying the caddy as an antique Sheraton piece already considered over one hundred years old at the time of sale. The document records its purchase by Mrs. M. Richard Brown for five pounds and five shillings, providing charming early provenance that accompanies the object today.

The refined marquetry, precise stringing, and elegant proportions are characteristic of the finest English cabinetmaking of the period and bear comparison to work produced by leading London and provincial workshops such as Gillows of Lancaster and London, whose furniture and tea equipage of the 1790s employed similar satinwood inlay and neoclassical ornament.

Complete with its original key and interior fittings, this tea caddy is an excellent and well-preserved example of late Georgian decorative craftsmanship. It reflects the social ritual of tea drinking in the period of the Prince of Wales, when such objects served not only as practical storage but also as symbols of refinement, hospitality, and fashionable taste within the Georgian household.

The transposed accompanying 1928 provenance/invoice
JEFFREYS' LODGINGS,
DORCHESTER.

12th June, 1929.

I guarantee that this tea caddy is over 100 years old, and to the best of my knowledge and belief, it is a genuine Sheraton piece. It is dated 1797 and bears the initial S in front of the date.

The price paid for the above caddy by Mrs. M. Richard Brown was five pounds, five shillings.

(signature)

Proprietor,
Judge Jeffreys' Antique Shop.
Dorchester, England. See less