Soapstone Decorative Boxes

A fabulous glass and brass lidded trinket box, circa late 1960s..The box is made of a thick clear glass with bronze latch and trim. The set is in ...

An early 20th century Chinese jewelry box made with red brown lacquered wood and iron hardware. This small rectangular box features a large bottom drawer, two smaller ones and a hing...

A beautiful polished green malachite decorative box with a lid. Brought from a trip to Egypt in the 1970s, this piece will be fabulous on a nightstand or coffee table. Dimensions...

PRESENTING A LOVELY Wedgwood Jasperware Pale Blue Square Lidded Trinket Box. Made by Wedgwood in England circa 1970-80 and fully and properly marked/stamped on base. Marked: “Wedgw...

Mid-Century Modern hinged box veneered in fine Onyx stone, Spain, 1950s. This exquisite vintage 1950s rectangular box is all constructed with onyx and features a brass hinge. This tr...

This vintage Herend porcelain floral trinket jewelry box is a true collector’s item. Its hand-painted design depicts a beautiful floral design, making it a unique addition to any co...

Micro Mosaic Persian Islamic Moorish Inlaid Jewelry Pen Box. 1950s Middle Eastern Moorish Inlaid Jewelry Trinket Mosaic Box. Handcrafted mar...

Vintage large trinket / jewelry / keepsake box / casket / chest by Castilian Imports. Item No. 7710. Rectangular form with black lacquer ground gilded with details of Neoclassical in...

Beautiful Chinese jewelry box. Wood with brass and jade details. Original key inside three little drawers, with red Silk upholstery and place for your rings and bracelets. In the dr...

Small Italian Rectangular Trinket Box with Two Carved Cuddling Love Birds On the Lid.

A scarce fine quality antique silver-inlaid solid brass betel nut box (Lutuan), dating to the second half of the 19th / early 20th century, hand-crafted in Mindanao, Philippines. Boxes such as this were used to store the areca nut (also known as the betel nut) which would be wrapped in a betel leaf with lime paste and other ingredients, often tobacco, for chewing. Similar to the European tea caddy, these boxes often served as a way to impress while showing off ones wealth. Betel chewing was prevalent in the southern Philippines as in much of the rest of Southeast Asia. Wealthier Maranao families on Mindanao were able to afford elaborate silver-inlaid brass betel boxes such as this example. Such boxes were used to show off to guests and from which they were offered betel and the other component such as leaves and lime to make up the betel quid. Rare large size, most extant examples of such boxes tend to measure around 5 inches in length. At slightly more than 7.75 inches the example here is larger than most. The distinctive decorative box features a very heavy strong-box like rectangular shaped chest form with canted corners, copper handles, and a conforming hinged lid, lifting open to reveal an interior divided into three compartments covered by four hinged lids. Each of these doors is inlaid with silver in stylized orchid flower patterns. Exceptionally executed throughout, the arabesque silver inlaid exterior is decorated to the top with a large orchid motif within scrolling obid-obid (stylized rope) borders. The front, back and sides are inlaid with sets of stylized tail feathers of the sari-manok bird beneath which are unusual, highly stylized whimsical zoomorphic faces that appear like cat or tiger faces. (Such stylisation is accounted for by Southeast Asian Islamic preferences to avoid the overt and this potentially idolatrous representation of animal and human forms. Designs such as these are drawn from a local design repertoire that has its origins in wood carving. Although the spread of Islam in the Philippines began in the 14th century, mostly through the influence of Muslim merchants from the western Malay Archipelago, decorative arts in this design remain exceptionally rare. This lutuan represents a fine example of Islamic metalwork from the most eastern outreach of Islamic art and civilisation: Mindanao island being significantly further east than even China – artwork from Islamic Southeast Asia remains chronically under-represented in the world’s major collections of Islamic art. PROVENANCE / ACQUISITION Acquired from highly reputable auction house, Austin Auction Gallery, established 1983, Austin, Texas. References Brownrigg, H., Betel Cutters...

PRESENTING A LOVELY Wedgwood Jasperware Pale Blue Lidded Heart Trinket Box. Made by Wedgwood in England circa 1960 and fully and properly marked/sta...