Tea-caddy

This container, with its tightly fitting lid, would have been used to keep tea leaves fresh. It combines two different materials. The interior of the caddy is made of tortoiseshell, possibly acquired in Dutch overseas colonies in southeast Asia. After the tortoiseshell arrived in the Netherlands, a Zwolle-based silversmith named Hendrik Voet added  a thin silver engraving, which he laid on the surface, connected to the underlying material with small pins. The play between the bright, reflective silver and the translucent tortoiseshell is striking.