Late 19th Century Decorative Boxes

this large ribbed and cylindrical Japanese shell-game box with domed lid decorated overall with Maki-e (gold lacquered) foliate wreaths and stylized flower heads and incised brass mounts; raised on four splayed supports. Hokai boxes...

This finely lacquered box was once presented as a gift, filled with popular snacks like roasted melon seeds, dried fruit, and cinnamon-toasted soy beans. Dated to the late 19th centu...

How can this not make you smile? This well-carved antique Black Forest box of an expressive shaggy dog with glass eyes, forward gaze, open m...

Beautiful antique Victorian jewelery box. The box is made of wood, covered with paper machee, lacquered black and inlaid with a mosaic of mother-of-pearl. Painted with gold colored decorations. The interior of the box is lined with blue silk fabric...

This antique wooden box is unmarked and unsigned, but believed to have been made in Russia in circa 1890. The top of the box portrays a vignette of a shore scene where several men in...

A most unusual late 19th century novelty box in the form of a drum made from gilded brass inset with a selection of faux cabochon Turquoise, Opals and Garnets. The handles of the ...

A 19th century erotical secret box. Extremely rare erotic sculpture from the 19th century, most probably created in France, circa 1870. This is a sculptural box depicting a woman sitting on a woven wood basket. The sculpture represents a small discrete treasure chest to keep jewels. It was masterfully crafted from pieces of cream and brown wood carvings and is fitted with a screwable part to reveal the interior. This is an outstanding object, unobtainable on the antique market and of high collecting. Other examples of these enigmatic boxes produced in the 19th Century. Gilded and patinated bronze, made in France during the 3rd Empire. Ca 1870 Weight: 192.2 Grams, (123.20 Dwt). Measurements: 150 mm by 63.5 mm by 89 mm (5.91 x 2.5 x 3.5 Inches). Condition: The overall condition of this sculpture is excellent. Beside the little normal wear, there is no damage to any part. This erotic box...

Unique flower pot with singing bird automaton made by Bontems in the last quarter of the 19th century. Bontems was a manufacturer of bird automatons in Paris. He produced decent num...

A stunning and rare antique Italian Renaissance revival hand carved wooden match holder and striker mounted with a sleeping putti by world renowned furniture maker and carved Luigi F...

A stunning and scarce antique English Victorian era burlwood voting box. Hand-crafted in the 19th century, the small table box having a rectangular case wi...

Rustic Spanish chateau champagne grape harvesting basket constructed from woven wicker reeds. Features a thick braided top with handles ...

Victorian, sterling silver heart-form trinkets box with hinged lid and gilt interior, Birmingham, England, year-hallmarked for 1897, H. Matthews - Maker. Lid is designed with a Joshu...

An exceptional, fine and impressive antique Victorian English sterling silver and enamel cigarette case; an addition to our range of silver boxes and cases. This exceptional antique Victorian sterling silver cigarette case has a plain rectangular form with rounded corners. This antique cigarette case has a subtly curved form proffering a comfortable fit in the majority of pockets. The anterior cover is embellished with an exceptional hot enamel scene depicting two greyhound style canines in a rural setting. The posterior surface of the case is ornamented with the contemporary engraved initials 'G.W.C.R' and the date '11th Feby 1886' The rounded sides of this cigarette case are plain and unembellished. This antique enamel cigarette case...

Sevres Style Pink Bombe Watteau Motif Ormolu Mounted Table Box Artist Signed J. Perrot France, circa 1890 An exquisite Sevres-style pink bombe Watteau motif ormolu-mounted table box...

A rare Japanese bark tree large cloisonné box on metal from the Meiji period. Usually bark tree cloisonné was on porcelain (totai Shippo) A very attracti...

An exceptional, fine and impressive antique French silver vesta case in the form of a mussel; an addition to our diverse smoking related silverware collection This exceptional antique French silver vesta case has an elongated asymmetrical form, realistically modelled in the form of a mussel shell. The anterior and posterior surfaces of the vesta are embellished with engraved decoration replicating the contours of the natural shell. This fine antique silver vesta...

19th Century Baccarat Cut Crystal Box or Casket with Gilt Bronze Mounts. Beautiful cut crystal box in a faceted design. Box is mounted in a gi...

This is a stunningly beautiful antique pair of Chinese red lacquered leather chinoiserie trunks, circa 1880 in date. The pair features rectangular shaped red leather trunks decorat...

A fine antique Pre-Revolution Russian Imperial silver-gilt & cloisonné enamel coin purse/case, Moscow, 1899. The purse with the maker's mark in Cyrillic and the assayer's mark for Iv...

19th Century Majolica napkin Trompe l'oeil box or basket/tureen with an egg on the handle signed Sarreguemines.      

19th century Swedish pine log box circa 1870. Fine example of Swedish rustic furniture that was made with available timbers and still functioning after all this time. Made by secur...

19th century book shaped inlaid olive box circa 1890. Unusual Italian keep sake box made in olive wood.  Inlaid top surface with musical instrument, flowers and a faux peeled back corner, finished in a mosaic border.  Front of the box with hand painted 'souvenir' and roman numeral labelled book ends.   Box currently has no key, but it does have a feature where the bottom of the box slides back and the middle book end slides down to reveal a secret key...

Very beautiful and rare clock with bird automaton. Made by Bontems at the end of 19th century in Paris. This French pendulum clock runs for 8 days, strikes the half hour and full ho...

A Fantastic 19th century French Louis XVI Style Dore Bronze Mounted Blue Opaline Crystal Box. The box is composed of two sections of French opaline crystal which are mounted to a fab...

Gilt bronze and Sèvres style porcelain Louis XVI style casket on stand This magnificent Louis XVI style ormolu casket is supported by a mirror-topped table stand, which sits on four tapered, fluted legs connected by a curving X-form stretcher. In the centre of this stretcher is an ormolu urn decorated with rams heads, four hoof feet and birds on the top. The legs of the table are also ornately decorated with draped garlands and scrolled detailing. The apron is inset with Sèvres style porcelain plaques depicting scenes of cherubs and children in landscapes as well as decorative floral detailing, and is surmounted with laurel leaf mounts. The casket itself is of oval architectural form, and is set on fourteen small feet. It features further porcelain plaques depicting cherubs, musical instruments and a central oval portrait of Queen Marie Antoinette within a crowned gilt cartouche. Her portrait is flanked by two cherubs and is sat within a decorative royal blue border, matching the turquoise colored borders of the other plaques. The reverse of the casket is similarly decorated and features a painted plaque of her husband King Louis XVI. The plaques are separated by mounted ormolu columns decorated with crowns and draped laurel leaves, and each column is surmounted by floral crowns. Each curved side of the casket features an ormolu mask of a female figure, and the hinged lid is surmounted by two reclining female figures wearing draped dresses and holding a central crown. The casket opens at the lid to reveal a velvet interior. There is an inscription below the portrait of Marie Antoinette which spuriously reads ‘This casket formerly property of Marie Antoinette, presented to my beloved wife as souvenir of our European tour / Sept 8th 1886 / Louis L...

A beautiful decorative storage chest. The chest is made of solid oak. At the front, top and both sides a copper diamond pattern with flower motifs. On both side brass handles. Made i...

Sn4433 fine Victorian figured walnut jewellery or sewing box with brass carrying handle, original working lock and a key and green interior, all in home ready condition, circa 1880. ...

An extensively filled 19th century ormolu-mounted ebonized wood dresser vanity box fitted with silver gold washed lidded glass gars and sewing tools. The ...

A Sèvres style antique French fan shaped porcelain jewellery box or casket dating from the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Hand painted wit...

An exquisite egg-shaped wooden box by Maison Alphonse Giroux, crafted in the second half of the 19th century. The box rests on a round base and features metal fittings, including a d...

Tiny porcelain hand painted box by Limoge decorated with a rose and with small scissors as a clasp. France, circa 1880.  

ENAMELLED SCENE TO THE LID From our Glassware collection, we are pleased to offer this Antique French Cranberry Glass Box. The box of oval form wi...

A compelling round 19th century Paris porcelain box by Bloch and Bourdois. With raised gold decoration, hand-painted vignettes and floral sprays, and a gilt bronze mount. Base ...

In the past, this type of large toilet service would have been an essential luxury for an elite woman. They were used to store makeup, perfume, pins, ribbons and anything else a lady needed to dress for High Society. Placed in a prominent position in a lady’s bedroom, the service would have signified its owner’s wealth and high status. This nine-piece service is of Austro-Hungarian origin, being created in Vienna in the late 19th century. The service includes a double sided table mirror...

19th Century French Cut Crystal Casket Box with Ormolu Mounts and Key. Overall excellent condition with age appropriate wear. No damages. Original ...

This is beautifully carved antique Chinese camphorwood bedding trunk or coffer, circa 1880 in date. With a rectangular hinged lid and side carrying handles there is no mistaking its...

This is an antique travelling vanity box. An English, leather bound campaign correspondence case, dating to the late Victorian period, circa 1880....

This is an antique desktop stationery box. An English, oak correspondence case in Arts & Crafts taste, dating to the late Victorian period, circa 1890. Striking Victorian craftsmans...

Found in Germany at an estate sale, this hand carved trinket box or catchall is perfect for the collector. Nice antique collectible to display in yo...

Antique Victorian J&S glove, casket, keepsake or jewelry box crafted of wood clad in gold tone enamel finished embossed metal with a fine orange velvet l...

Napoleon III music box with 8 bee melodies including 4 complications. Ability to play and replay loops melodies. Possibility to add to engage a resonator and or activate small bees t...

Beautiful antique game box from the French Napoleon III period. The box is made of book veneer match, inlaid with brass trims. This box shows the fine craftsmanship of the ebenist wh...

this large ribbed and cylindrical Japanese shell-game box with domed lid decorated overall with Maki-e (gold lacquered) foliate wreaths and stylized flower heads and incised brass mounts; raised on four splayed supports. Hokai boxes...

A beautiful antique storage box, made of bamboo, beautifully decorated with plates of gracefully embossed copper. The chest was probably made in Japan, for the European/French market...

Wooden Viennese pharmacy containers of the late 19th century, in a set of 22 pieces. The containers with lids are made of boxwood and printed with the names of various spices in ...

Made circa 1890 by James Dixon & Sons, this attractive, Antique, Victorian, Silver Plate folding Biscuit Box, is of traditional form, with push button opening to each side, and gilt ...

This finely painted box was once presented as a gift, filled with popular snacks like roasted melon seeds, dried fruit, and cinnamon-toasted soy beans. Used like a modern lunchbox, e...

Italian, likely Circa 1880. This beautiful box has an exceptional Grand Tour Micro-mosaic plaque depicting the Capitoline Doves or Doves of Pliny after the Roman antiquity. Also by ...

This is a gorgeous antique Victorian burr walnut and marquetry inlaid enclosed Canterbury circa 1870 in date. The grain of the burr walnut is truly beautiful. It features a hinged...

19th Century Hoshiarpur Inlaid Writing Box Quite simply, this is a stunning example of a 19th Century hand crafted Hoshiarpur inlaid writing box. The craftsmanship is quite amazing ...

Rectangular silver guilded case with rounded corners. The oval lid has an enamel painting on the exterior of a mountain view and on the interior brightly enamelled with flower bouqu...

English Victorian-style rectangular light wood box with star and diamond shape inlays, with 3 compartments.  

How can this not make you smile? This well-carved antique Black Forest box of an expressive shaggy dog with glass eyes, forward gaze, open m...

Antique French Sterling neoclassical 'Four Seasons' tea caddy France, circa 1880s A hefty, highly detailed silver tea caddy/ box, with remo...

Silver enameled box by Rudolf Steiner, 1899 with a miniature painting An octagonal Austrian silver white enameled, inside gold-plated box made by Ru...

A lovely showpiece of a box with exquisite details down to it's ormolu surround and clasp. Lovely hand painted florals all over including its main painting on the top of the box as w...

Small 19th Century Palissy Majolica Pumpkin Tureen.

19th Century Graduated Stack of Paint Decorated Pantry Boxes, circa 1880, comprising five shaved splint bentwood pantry boxes with straight overlaps fastened via wooden pegs, in late...

Daum Nancy bonbonnière "Pansies" circa 1898 A "Pansies" Opalescent glass bonbonniere with a hand-painted polychromatic enameled decor gold highlighted on an acid frosted background D...

An exceptional large wooden case from the Victorian era, circa 1880s. Made from pine with raised and burled panels. Features a marquetry inlay top showcasing a bird within a flowerin...

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...