Bone Decorative Boxes

Early 18th century inlaid Italian walnut and tortoiseshell vargueno. 6 drawers with fine inlay, iron hardware.

Small box by Werkstätten Carl Auböck with curved wooden lid and brass body, lined with cork inside. The design combines a warm wood surface with brushed brass sides, creating the ch...

A large Indian Colonial ‘Vizagapatam’ pen-engraved bone inlaid ebony box Masulipatnam or Vizagapatam, 2nd half 18th century H. 10.8 x W. 47 x D. 34 cm ...

Circa 1750. Tortoiseshell and mother of pearl box with sliding top from Mexico 18th century. Beautiful designs all over. As is condition.

There is much more to this exquisite Georgian snuffbox than meets the eye. Beautifully crafted of striking burlwood, this unassuming box features a lining of precious tortoiseshell and a false bottom, which, when gently unscrewed, reveals a miniature erotic painting of exceptional detail. Erotic antiques...

Rare Dutch 18th century Tortoiseshell box with rippled serpentine sides embellished with silver mounts and mobility silver ball feet. Some small cracks in the lid, barely noticeable....

A very wonderful and most attractive Anglo-Indian 19th century black patinated, Bone and Oak box. This unique rectangular box made of veneered blocks of Bone is supported on four squ...

A spectacular and extremely high quality French 19th century Louis XIV st. Boulle Boîte à Bijoux, signed "Tahan - Fournisseur du Roi" (Royal cabinetmake...

Capricia Box IV by Arcahorn Dimensions: D 20 x W 28 x H 14 cm Materials: Leather, wood, horn. Box in Aida pebbled leather, Ice-cream color with handmade dark brown stitching. Lid in...

Steam pressed decorative, dimensional horn tiled keepsake/desk box - a great addition to any dresser or book shelf.

Small Selene Box by Arcahorn Dimensions: D 15 x W 22 x H 4 cm Materials: Leather, wood, horn, brass. Rectangular box in horn and wood with lacquered ivory gloss finish. Lid in wood ...

Once owned by Leon Boissier Palun (1916-2007), former Senegalese ambassador to London and Paris, this mid nineteenth century French Napoleon III period palisander game box features a...

A fine and rare 17th-century William and Mary olive oyster floral marquetry lace box, circa 1685. England The cross grain olive moulded and holly banded top is centred by an oval of...

Great condition for its age. No major losses or damage. Has original sewing pieces inside.

A beautiful black and white geometric pattern made of bone. The geometric pattern is intricately placed. The box would be a complement to any table - side table, cocktail table or ...

An antique Russian sewing box made of bone, dated 1828 on the lid. Decorated with an etched trailing foliage pattern and topped with original green pin cushion. Lined with original g...

Spanish Colonial inlaid bone and faux tortoiseshell domed top box. Original hammered iron hinges. Circa 1680-1740. Excellent condition and very rare.

A Victorian silver plate and tortoiseshell basket. And tortoiseshell glove box. The box measures 1.5 inches H x 10.5 inches W x 2 inches D.

Exceptionally detailed 19th century carved bone gunpowder flask Italian, 19th Century Height 36cm, diameter 11cm This unconventional gunpowder flask, created in Italy in the 19th ce...

Collection of four 19th century walking sticks, three fashioned from segments of steer horn, one a combination of horn and steer hide, all with slightly flexible shafts. Longest 37",...

Shepherd box. Carved horn. Spain, 1822. Rectangular box made of carved horn that has a date (1822) engraved on the lid and front, a legend (Soi de Manuel Zulueta year 1822) and an...

A round wooden box from India. Might be some type of exotic rosewood. Circa 1920s, maybe a little earlier. Box with six ivory dots on lid, ivory feet and finial.

Intriguing antique Anglo Indian lidded box handcrafted in indigenous hardwood clad in organic tortoise shell decorated with engraved bone set on carved bone paw feet. The interior is...

A small oval tortoiseshell piqué patch pot, the hinged lid with a beribboned garland of flowers round a blank escutcheon, raised on four ogee feet....

Mexican cabinet. Made of tortoiseshell, pen-engraved and wood. Possible Oaxaca or Puebla, 17th century.

Metal decorative box with bone and stone inlay. The exterior of the box showcases a mosaic bone inlay adorned with turquoise and red stones set in pewter. The inside of the box is li...

A wonderful and most charming Anglo-Indian 19th century black patinated, Bone and Oak box. This lovely rectangular box is supported on four squared feet in each corner. The front sid...

English Art Deco green shagreen and bone trimmed box with a wood lining in the interior

An anglo Indian workbox made of ebony. The tray lifts up from the box on the lid which is also inlaid in ivory and ebony and has a bone round disc that is signed New Bedford 1810. Th...

Elegant, exotic, and unmistakably refined, shagreen has long captivated those with a discerning eye for luxury. A study in subtle opulence, this artisan-crafted decorative box is wr...

Art Deco shagreen covered wooden box of dark green color and with a bone lid lift.

A Very Impressive example of an Anglo-Indian Raj Period (1857-1947) mellow faded Elk Stag Antler Horn Casket Box of outstanding quality and generous proportions. Made in Vizagapatam,...

A dutch tortoiseshell box with two engraved silver plaques Amsterdam, 1691, with maker's mark of Steven des Rousseaux (1654-1733) H. 5 cm Diam. 12.5 cm Note: Steven des ...

A circa 1930's English engraved bone box with landscapes. Measurements: Height: 6" Width: 12.5" Depth: 8.5"

Presenting an astonishing Japanese Antique Carved Bone bamboo-form snuff bottle, museum quality. Dimension: 2.5" H x 1 " Dia. Condition: Excellent Condition

Contemporary Indian three dimensional design cream colored bone box. Part of a large collection of bone boxes and trays.

French Tortoise Shell Circular Box With Inlaid Silver Top Depicting Fox & Stork

Fabulous Indian box made of bone and pierced brass with a wood bottom.A very nice design. Turn of the century, India.

A strikingly beautiful French dore bronze box is all engraved with an ivory picture of an aristocrat, LeBron. The box is heavily chased with a velvet i...

Hollywood Regency Tessellated Box Or Chest. This charming vintage tessellated box or tabletop chest would make a lovely jewelry box or decorative table box.

English gilt metal mounted tortoise shell box with oil painting of Julias Caesar.

A large Edwardian shaped rectangular silver and tortoiseshell piqué box, the hinged lid with a dainty basket suspended from a bow with long ribbons entwined with flowering tendrils, ...

Vizagapatam box, India, 19th century. This highly decorative and unusual Anglo-Indian table box features rustic workmanship that adds to the character and charm of this unique Sout...

A Stunning Porcupine Quill Box, made from black wood with porcupine quill decorations. These were highly valued for their rich timbers and intricate craftsmanship. The production of ...

Large tasselated horn with brass handle jewelry box.

This box is from France. It has been made in 1940, it is an art Deco Item. The box is in wood. It is a cigar box but It can be used as a docorative box...

This refined cigar box is the work of Enrique Garcel, a Colombian maker known for producing meticulously handcrafted decorative objects distinguished by their use of natural horn arr...

Veneered in Amboyna Wood From our Sewing Box collection, we are pleased to offer this Amboyna Sewing Box. The Sewing Box of rectangular shape veneered in Amboyna with a circular mo...

Selene Box by Arcahorn Dimensions: D 20 x W 28 x H 6 cm Materials: Leather, wood, horn, brass. Rectangular box in dark horn and wood with lacquered black gloss finish. Lid in wood w...

Elegant and finely crafted rosewood and ivory inlay traveller's writing desk from the late Mughal period of British India (circa 1825), on low bun feet. In excellent condition, with ...

Presenting an absolutely gorgeous and very rare 19C Anglo Indian Vizigapatam stamp box. Made in Colonial India (the Time of the Raj) circa 1860. Prob...

Domed Patchwork Bone Trinket Box Probably made by Maitland Smith

A well crafted wooden Octagonal box with Tessellated bone inlay - lidded and ready for many different contents, from desk accessories to television remotes, jewelry, letters, memento...

Decorative keepsake/jewelry box clad in natural and dyed bone tiles. Top is in a Moorish motif of inlaid Turquoise bone elements. Handcrafted.

PRESENTING A VERY NICE 19C Anglo Indian Highly Carved Teak and Sandalwood Sarcophagus Sewing Box. Made in Bombay, India circa 1890-1900. The box case/body is made of sandalwood wit...

A beautifully detailed small Moorish style box, finely crafted in Spain and sourced from a shop in San Miguel de Allende. The piece features exquisite inlay work of mother-of-pearl, ...

A flat-lidded brown polished horn box by Maitland Smith, with two beautifully inlaid and brass trimmed polished greenstone ( I believe to be amazonite tiles surrounded by a gilt bras...

Intricately carved inro in the form of a woven basket. Quality craftsmanship. Opens into two pieces, held together with a rust-red silk string. Made of nat...

19th Century Anglo Indian fall front box with six drawers with metal pulls. The exterior and interior inlaid throughout with bone and various woods. Intricate geometric designs cover...

PRESENTING A LOVELY 19C Anglo Indian Highly Carved Sadeli Mosaic Inlaid Sewing Box. Made in Bombay, India, circa 1880. The box is made of sandalwood with highly carved raised teak wood panels on all sides, depicting temple scenes, animals and foliage. The box is in a sarcophagus form. It is edged in bone (and we can tell it is bone and not ivory, from the color and evidence of capillaries, which are not found in ivory), and banded with Bombay Sadeli mosaic and ebony veneer. The lid opens to reveal a removable tray with various open compartments and lidded compartments. 5 lidded compartments, 1 unlidded compartment and 8 holders for thimbles, etc The tray lifts to reveal a blue velvet (original) lined section, for storing jewelry etc, with sections for collars etc. The inside of the lid has a removable mirror (the mirror is missing on this one but can easily be replaced). Behind the mirror is the original green velvet lining. It has its original brass carry handles on the sides and sits on 4 silvered button feet (of recent origin). Some repairs to the exterior and condition issues (priced accordingly), but still a LOVELY COLLECTIBLE box! These boxes were made by superb Indian craftsmen, specifically for sale to the ruling British elite. These types of boxes, carved padouk and sandalwood, (whilst beautiful and superbly crafted) were of a lesser quality, than the more profusely and intricately mosaic inlay, tortoiseshell and ivory boxes, made for the British ‘Upper Classes’ in the areas of Bombay and Vizagapatam. These type of boxes were much more affordable back in 1880 (and indeed today) and would probably have been bought by mid-level diplomats, civil servants or visitors. Sewing boxes (in general), were in EVERY Victorian home in Britain in the 19th century and like other boxes etc were ‘status symbols’ of your place in society! The more ornate the box, the more ‘Upper Class’ you were! SADELI MOSAIC: “Anglo Indian boxes were made in India for the English residents from the early part of the 18th century. They were brought back or sent back to England usually by the people who had commissioned them. From the beginning of the nineteenth century they were imported more commercially, although not in any significant numbers until the middle decades. They were very highly valued, especially the early ones, to the extent that the designs were copied on late 19th and early 20th century tins. The ancient art of Sadeli Mosaic is said to have been introduced from Shiraz in Persia via Sind to Bombay, a long time before the Anglo Indian boxes were made. It was a technique, which required a high degree of skill and patience. It was executed very lavishly, in that the frequent cuts wasted a great amount of the precious materials used. The workmanship was however more than commensurable to the value of the materials. Ivory, silver, pewter (or other metals), wood and Horn were cut into faceted rods which were bound together to form geometric patterns. When the glue has set, the rods were sliced in transverse sections. This gave the maker a number of angled circular pieces in the original pattern. Several variations of patterns could be achieved by combining the materials in different ways. The ivory was sometimes dyed green to give an extra color. The mosaic pieces in a combination of patterns, often separated by ivory, ebony, Horn or silver stringing were used to veneer sandalwood boxes. In the early boxes, which date from the turn of the 18th to the 19th century, there are large panels of mosaic covering tops and sides of boxes. It took incredible skill to cover such large areas without any shakes or wavering of the pattern. The corners and joins on these boxes are impeccably matched. The makers (reputed to be Persian) of Sadeli mosaic made in the first two decades of the 19th century displayed a total understanding of the qualities of the different materials they used. They combined substances, which can expand and contract according to atmospheric conditions with others, which are hard and unyielding. The result was a sharp definition of the lines and patterns, which made up the whole design. On the early boxes the designs look deceptively simple. The fact is, they emerged from a culture, which had mastered geometry and understood how to generate a pattern from a set number of points. The patterns are so harmoniously combined that their incredible complexity is not immediately apparent. The earliest Sadeli boxes...