Description:
TC563: A well patinated oval burr yew caddy  inlaid with a fine rendition of the Prince of Wales feathers above a crown. The design is sharply defined and subtly shaded  by scorching the wood  on a background  of boxwood. The edgings  and facings are boxwood.  Circa 1790.

Origin:  UK; Circa: 1790;  Materials: yew box and maple on a carcass of beech and pine.

Size: It measures 7.5  inches wide  by 4.4 inches deep and it is 5 inches  high: 19 cm wide by 11.1 cm deep by 12.7 cm high.

Condition: good overall,   see images.
As each person has different criteria and antiques by their very nature have wear  please enlarge the images and ask for extra information as needed. 

All the woods used in this caddy are native to England. The burr yew has a particularly good figure.

The inlays were not always made by the cabinet makers who made the boxes. More ambitious work was often executed by masters of marquetry. The oval medallions of marquetry were usually bought in from specialist craftsmen. For example, Joseph Binns worked in London and on his trade card dating from the last decade of the 18th century, he described himself as "Oval Shell & Stringing Maker, Dyed Woods of Different Colors..."

The subtle shading is achieved by dipping the separate fretted  pieces of wood into molten lead or hot sand.

See: Antique Boxes, Tea Caddies, and Society, 1700--1880 
Antigone Clarke & Joseph O'Kelly, ISBN: 0764316885 

"One of Hepplewhite's motifs, that of the Prince of Wales’s Feathers, became de rigueur during the Regency crisis. In 1788 the old king, George III appeared to have lost his reason. A Regency Bill was hastily drawn expecting the imminent rise to power of George, the Prince of Wales. The Prince's political sympathies were on the side of the Whigs and the ladies of fashion who also had Whig inclinations hastened to decorate their hats with three ostrich feathers, much to the delight of the cartoonists who had a field day. A more quiet way of anticipating the Prince's ascendancy was to have one's box discreetly inlaid with the Prince's symbol. This is a particularly fine rendition of this design.

 Unfortunately for the Whigs and in spite of the bafooning doctors, the King recovered and the Regency was postponed for another twenty years, by which time the political affiliations of the Prince were totally confused."

Side view showing the beautiful figure of the wood.

Back view.

Shells, reminiscent of Britannia’s rule of the waves, were ideal motifs for oval medallions. They were delicately cut and shaded using the hot sand technique. The marquetry is particularly fine.

All the woods used in this caddy are native to England. The burr yew has a particularly good figure.

 The oval carcass  of the caddy  looks like beech wood. the top and bottom are pine ,

The caddy retains a little of its original leading consistent with its age.

A protruding "lip" on the lid helps keep the moisture out.

Underside.