81 - SILVER TEA CADDY WITH ENGRAVED GALLANT SCENES. EUROPE, LATE 19TH - EARLY 20TH CENTURY.

SILVER TEA CADDY WITH ENGRAVED GALLANT SCENES. EUROPE, LATE 19TH - EARLY 20TH CENTURY. An elegant silver tea caddy of lobed, petal-shaped form, crafted in Europe at the turn of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The body displays a refined silhouette with gently moulded lobes evoking the unfolding petals of a flower, lending the piece remarkable sculptural elegance and visual harmony. The surface is finely hand-engraved with gallant scenes inspired by the aesthetic vocabulary of eighteenth-century French Rococo. Graceful figures of ladies and gentlemen in idyllic garden settings, framed by ornamental cartouches, floral garlands and scrolling foliage, create a richly decorative composition characteristic of European historicist silver. Objects of this type were intended for storing fine tea leaves and served not only as functional vessels but also as distinguished elements of the table service in affluent households. Executed in 800 standard silver, this tea caddy is a fine example of European decorative arts from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, demonstrating the revival of historic artistic styles through exceptional silversmithing and masterful ornamental engraving. Hallmarks: Assay mark for 800 standard silver. Dimensions:Height: 14 cm. Width: 8.5 cm. Weight: 225 g. Width: 8.5cm, Height: 14cm, Depth: 7.2cm, Weight: 0.3kg, Condition: Good, with traces of use, Material: Silver 800, ID: ID-ANTQ-3657