This rare and beautiful antique tea tin from Mazawattee of England is shaped like a shell with embossed details, with smaller shells decorating around the base. I understand this vintage tin box dates to around 1900.
About Mazawattee: Mazawattee's beginnings can be traced back as early as the 1850s when John Boon Densham, a chemist, started selling loose teas from India and China. Tea was highly regarded for its restorative benefits and Mazawattee's 'the cup that cheers, but does not inebriate' became very fashionable amongst Victorian tea drinkers. By 1898, Mazawattee became the largest tea company in the world. The Second World War hit the brand hard, but it is trading tea again now!
Dimensions: 18cm x 16cm x 7cm
Pre-loved: A lot of vintage wear and rust. Most highly embossed areas are worn to dark metal. There are four shells on the back side of base which are not embossed, so these appear lighter, as they do not have the darkened embossed borders. Patina inside. Hinge well attached and opens and closes fine.
