This is a neat silver plated tea diffuser or tea infuser that I brought home from England. The gadget is used to make a cup of tea with tea leaves instead of a tea bag.

The plunger type mechanism slides the bottom half of a tea ball out to receive the tea leaves, then retracts. The gadget is then put in the tea cup with hot water, and voila! A cup of tea with no mess.

This silver plated version is unmarked, measures 7 inches long by 1 inch deep by 2 in diameter and is in excellent used vintage condition. Neat!  

These make great hostess gifts, tea party favors or gifts at any time for a tea lover!