This is a handmade Chinese lacquer begonia tea caddy, a tea container (茶叶罐) with a begonia-shaped rim, finished entirely in black-and-gold rhino skin lacquer (Xipi, 犀皮漆), from the Chong Series by HFDlacquerware (禾丰鼎).At 4.3" tall and 3.9" across, it keeps loose-leaf tea close at hand on the tea table, and stands on its own as a display piece.

In the Chong Series (high relief), the groundwork is built up high before the lacquer goes on, so the pattern rises and falls like terraced fields. Each Chong Series piece takes two to three years to make, and the pattern forms on its own, so no two caddies are alike. It arrives in a gift box.

The begonia has long been a flower of the Chinese scholar's garden. Here it opens at the rim, and closes again each time the lid goes back on.

Also available: see the other Begonia Tea Caddy in Black & Gold, and the Tea Caddy in Red & Gold.