A rare matched pair of superb George III Chippendale bombé tea caddies, of splendid colour and patination

England, circa 1760.

Why we love them

Incredibly rare in this distinctive bombé form, these superb boxes display most wonderful colour and patination, their wonderful quality 18th century rococo metalwork retaining traces of beautiful original fire-gilding.

The English satirist Jonathan Swift (1667–1745) wrote in his Directions to Servants (1729) about "small chests and trunks with lock and key, wherein they keep the tea and sugar." Executed in a rather restrained Rococo style, these caddies display some similarities to designs in the first edition of Thomas Chippendale’s Gentleman and Cabinetmaker’s Director (1754).

Influenced by the avant-garde French fashion and introduced by Thomas Chippendale, the bombé shape was only used for top quality furniture due to the complex process of its production.

Super rare as a pair, wonderfully decorative and collectible, these pretty boxes are perfect for keeping jewellery or simply as display objects.