In the18th and 19th century most wealthy houses would own at least one tea caddy. As tea was an expensive commodity, it would often be kept under lock and key in wooden caddys. 
This is a mid 19th century mahogany tea caddy, with two seperate compartments usually for green and black tea, both would have originally been lined with silver foil to protect the tea. it bears a bone escutcheon plate, but no key.
 
The caddy has some surface chips to the veneer as shown in the photos, both lids fit well and there is some evidence of the silver foil linning inside the compartments.
 
Dimensions: 18cm wide x 1.5cm deep x 10cm high