Dominick & Haff Antique Sterling Silver and Mixed Metal Tea Caddy, NYC, 1880

This large tea caddy is a wonderful example of aesthetic silver with mixed metal. The surface is textured with dense foliage and makes a stunning background for the applied decorations.

Brass and copper appliqué sporadically decorate the surface. Exotic grasses of brass sprout upwards from the base and hang downwards from the removable cover. There is a copper plant with berries rising from the base and a twisting branch coming down the body's shoulder. 

The various insects are scattered around the piece including two salamanders, one brass and one copper, three various sized butterflies, one brass and two of copper, a copper wasp and an exotic copper bird.

This rare tea caddy is marked underneath with Dominick & Haff's trademark including the dale along with 'STERLING/ 24' and by the retailer 'Wm WILSON & SON'. It measures 4 inches wide by 5 inches tall. weighs 11.05 troy ounces and is in excellent antique condition.