10 cm. （4 in.） wide

The development of tea culture has played an important role in the history of China. Since the beginning of time, tea was believed to be used as a sacrificial object for ritual ceremonies as early as the Neolithic to the Spring and Autumn period, with the emergence of tea farms in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces as early as 1000 BC. It was not until the Western Han dynasty that tea became recognised as an Imperial beverage, evident from the archaeological discovery of tea remnants from the mausoleum of Emperor Jing of Han （188-141 BC） in Xian. The consumption of tea as a common beverage began to spread and became popular, eventually becoming one of the seven essentials of daily life by the Tang and Song dynasty.

A tea caddy is a container which fashioned specifically for storing tea leaves. The inner container of the present lot is actually fashioned from copper. Copper is a particularly suitable material as it is perfect for keeping the tea leaves from oxidisation, absorbing exterior odours, moisture； and to retain the flavor and freshness of the tea leaves. Not to be mistaken for other ivory tea caddies made of export in the 19th-20th century； the delicate workmanship of the pierced ivory shell and cover of the current lot suggest that it was possibly commissioned by order for private use, whereby the beauty of the pair of vessels surpassed its basic function as a simple container but rather as a remarkable work of art. Compare the workmanship of a related inscribed and pierced rectangular box and cover by the artist Liu Juelu in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in Bamboo, Wood, Ivory and Rhinoceros Horn Carvings. The Complete Collection of Treasures of the Palace Museum, Shanghai, 2001, pp.206-207, no.170. The carefully worked multi-layered floral bud decoration appear to resemble that of another pierced rectangular box and cover with stained colours also in the Qing Court Collection, illustrated in op.cit., p.214, no.1765.

Price estimate:
HKD: 300, 000 - 500, 000
USD: 38, 500 - 64, 100

Auction Result:
HKD: 354,000