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Folk Art Decorative Boxes

FOLK ART STYLE

Folk art is a genre of art that shares the creator’s traditions, offering not just an artistic display but an opportunity to learn about a culture. Antique, new and vintage folk art typically reflects a heritage or location. It can include utilitarian objects and handmade art as diverse as weather vanes, duck decoys, portraiture and paintings, carnival art and quilts.

Quilts are a quintessential part of American folk art but their roots are international, with quilting dating back to Ancient Egypt. The practice spread to Europe and was especially prominent in the Middle Ages, with one of the oldest surviving examples being the Tristan quilt made in Sicily in the 14th century. They were made as bedcovers and clothing, including as a layer for knights to wear beneath their armor. Native American folk art includes functional objects reflecting their heritage, such as baskets, textiles and wooden pieces.

Elsewhere, the vast range of work associated with Mexican folk art includes masks made by Mexican craftspeople for traditional celebrations and ceremonial dances. Mexican masks are part of the country’s folk-art traditions that go back thousands of years and play a role in festivals and theater.

Works in the folk art tradition are valuable because of the skills involved, like weaving, hand-carving wood and even stonework. Many folk artists are self-taught, while some train as apprentices within their community. By using available materials and taking a personal approach to their creations, artists ensure each piece is unique and conveys a story.

During the Great Depression, artistic materials in America were hard to come by, so artisans used discarded wood from cigar boxes and shipping crates to make highly stylized, notched pieces — most often picture frames and boxes — that are today sought after by collectors. This folk art style is called tramp art and was popular from roughly 1870 until the 1940s.

Folk art brings vibrant culture and traditions into your home. Browse an extensive collection of antique, new and vintage folk art on 1stDibs.

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Style: Folk Art
Mid 19th century Swedish painted pine shaped box
Located in Debenham, Suffolk
Rustic tine pine work box of large proportions circa 1850. Shaped and metal bound edges and hinges.  Original handles and paint. Hinges have broken, which could be fixed but presen...
Category

Mid-19th Century Swedish Antique Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Pine

Handcrafted Antique Tinned Copper Metal Betel Box, India
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Beautiful handcrafted antique tinned copper decorative octagonal betel box with with lid, handle and brass latch. The metal is delicately and int...
Category

Early 20th Century Indian Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Brass, Copper, Tin

Antique Swedish Hand-Made Folk Art Pine Flour Box
Located in Kramfors, SE
Antique hand-made flour box from Sweden made in folk art during the second half of the 19th century, around 1860 to 1870. These boxes were either hung on the...
Category

Mid-19th Century Swedish Antique Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Pine

Victorian Era Tramp Art Chip Carved Trunk/ Box with Additional Glove Box
Located in Waxahachie, TX
2 handmade boxes included. Rare 1800s Tramp Art Lion Door knocker Hand Carved Storage Box / Jewelry Box / Crimson Velvet with Brass Hardware With intricate and elaborate decoration, ...
Category

19th Century British Antique Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Brass

Folk Art Painted Document Box 19th Century American
Located in Hudson, NY
A spectacular and fine, painted and stenciled, pine documentbox. The original blue paint having turned a dark green over time with the varnished finish, typical of Boston pieces. Yo...
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Early 19th Century American Antique Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Brass

19th Century Wooden Bible Box "Forget Me Not" with Secret Concealed Compartment
Located in Haddonfield, NJ
19th Century wooden Bible box "Forget Me Not" with secret concealed compartment The four words in the corners are quite cute and charming: Danish...
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19th Century Scandinavian Antique Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Wood

Large Tramp Art Hinge Lid Box
Located in Mt Kisco, NY
A handcrafted Tramp Art box or small chest. A detailed design on four tapered feet. The interior is lined with white quilted fabric and the lid is fitted with a large finial. The bot...
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Late 19th Century Antique Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Wood

Vintage Handcrafted and Carved Wood Box Leaf Motif, Jewelry Box, Keepsake Box
Located in Miami, FL
Vintage handmade beautifully carved wooden box, jewelry box or keepsake box. The Inside has 2 compartments which measure 3.38 x 3.38 inches. No makers mark.   A-916-335
Category

Mid-20th Century American Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Wood, Walnut

French 19th Century Folk Art Leather Box
Located in Buisson, FR
Beautiful weathered Folk Art box made out of wood and covered with leather. Working lock and key. France, circa 1850 Weathered, small losses.
Category

19th Century French Antique Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Leather, Wood

Folk Art Marquetry Box or Chest with Inlaid Star, French 19th Century
Located in ROUEN, Normandie
Folk Art Marquetry Box or Chest with Inlaid Star, French 19th Century Beautiful decorative wooden box or small chest. Folk Art from the 1890s, it features an inlaid star motif on t...
Category

Late 19th Century French Antique Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Wood, Fruitwood, Nutwood

19th Century Large Store Tea Tin Hand Painted Parnall & Sons Bristol, England
Located in Port Jervis, NY
Fabulous and large store tea tin by Parnall & Sons who were the people to see for outfitting your store and much more as the company grew from 1830. Hand painted showing a girl servi...
Category

Mid-19th Century British Antique Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Metal

Mahogany Jewelry Box with Mirror
Located in Haddonfield, NJ
Mahogany box with inlaid mother of pearl and mirror, on small round brass feet.
Category

Early 19th Century Danish Antique Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Mahogany, Mother-of-Pearl

Mahogany Jewelry Box with Mirror
Mahogany Jewelry Box with Mirror
$312 Sale Price
26% Off
Moroccan Berber Tuareg Metal Tribal Flask Overlay
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Great decorative Moroccan Berber Tuareg metal brass powder flask. African decorative brass with front richly decorated with Moorish embossed brass ocverlay. Moroccan tribal powder fl...
Category

20th Century Moroccan Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Brass

African Tuareg Hand-Tooled Black Leather Box
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Hand tooled black leather box from Africa. Very fine workmanship with tribal traditional African symbols on black leather. African Tuareg style probably ...
Category

Early 20th Century Mauritanian Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Leather

Antique Folk Art Box with Carved and Painted Cottage Scenes
Located in Atlanta, GA
Incredible Folk Art hand-carved and painted box with a charming cottage with tiled roof on the hinged lid. Three sides feature scenes of trees behind white fences and the box is rais...
Category

Late 19th Century Antique Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Velvet, Wood, Paint

Faux Malachite Leather Decorative Indian Maharaja Box
Located in Oklahoma City, OK
A beautiful unique Indian motif box with a lid. This piece would be fantastic for storing cigars, tv remotes, or miscellaneous items on a dresser or coffee table. The top of the box ...
Category

20th Century Indian Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Leather, Faux Leather, Paint

Vintage Round Ethnic Hand-Tooled Tuareg Leather Box African Folk Art Mauritania
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Hand-Tooled Tuareg Leather Box – Vintage African Folk Art, Mauritania This exquisite vintage round leather box showcases the artistry of West African craftsmanship, likely Tuareg in ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Mauritanian Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Leather

19th Century Original Folk Art Painted Chest of Drawers
Located in Godshill, Isle of Wight
19th Century original Folk Art painted chest of drawers. A Very attractive painted pine chest of drawers, it is decorated with flowers on the top and sides, the drawer fronts and ...
Category

Late 19th Century Antique Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Paint

Asian Black and Red Round Box Lacquer Offering Vessel Urn
Located in North Hollywood, CA
South Asian Burmese black and red lacquer box, offering vessel urn with compartment for storage. This round lacquer ware box from Burma is made from bamboo and lacquer. In Burma (now...
Category

Late 20th Century Burmese Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Bamboo

Russian Hand Painted Lacquerware Palekh Miniature Table Box
Located in Forney, TX
A rare and exceptional finely painted vintage Imperial Russian lacquerware box. Exquisitely hand-crafted in the Palekhsky District (Палех) of wes...
Category

20th Century Russian Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Lacquer

Antique Trap Art Keepsake Layered Box
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Decorated with multiple geometric layers of hand cut wood, featuring a hinged lid opening to a spacious storage with lock (included). Small mirror inside under the lid. Velvet gree...
Category

Early 19th Century European Antique Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Mirror, Wood

Antique Swedish Small Handmade Folk Art Box
Located in Kramfors, SE
Swedish folk art box made by hand in solid Swedish pine. The box is in original condition with the untouched original paint. Made in northern Sweden around the 1860s. It has most lik...
Category

Mid-19th Century Swedish Antique Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Pine

Swedish Folk Art 19th-Century Bentwood Box - Svepask
Located in Kvidinge, SE
An old original Bentwood Box from the late 19th century A beautiful piece full of history in oval shape with amazing patina and style with traces of age and use "Svepask" was used ...
Category

Late 19th Century Swedish Antique Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Wood, Bentwood, Pine

Folk Art, Hand Executed Modernist, Art Deco Airplane /Trinket Box
Located in Buffalo, NY
Folk Art, hand executed modernist, Art deco Airplane sculpture with hand built and painted trinket box.
Category

1940s American Vintage Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Wood

Vintage Brown Nautical Sailing Ship Wood Box with Hinged Lid
Located in Oklahoma City, OK
A vintage nautical theme jewelry or trinket box. This small rectangular brown box will be a great accent on a coffee table, dressing table, or on a bookshelf. It is created from wood...
Category

Mid-20th Century American Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Metal

Collectible spectacular rare big box, casket, tramp art, folk art, 1885, Austria
Located in Wien, AT
This incredibly rare box is made in the famous austrian tramp art around 1880 to 1890, its a extraordinary richly decorated example of these boxes. The object is rectangular in shap...
Category

1880s Austrian Antique Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Brass

Vintage Hand Carved Nut Woodenware Catchall, 1960s
Located in Nuernberg, DE
Found in Austria at an estate sale, this hand carved nut catchall is perfect for the collector. Nice Mid Century collectible to display ...
Category

1960s American Vintage Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Wood

Round Primitive Ceramic Decorative Trinket Studio Pottery Dish with Lid in Brown
Located in Oklahoma City, OK
A round studio pottery trinket dish in brown. This piece will be perfect for a nightstand, coffee table, or bar. It is round and glazed in a deep brown. The lid on the top features a...
Category

20th Century American Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Ceramic, Clay

19th Century Walnut Box With Bone and Mother Of Pearl Inlay
Located in Stamford, CT
19th century walnut box with bone and mother of pearl inlay, whaler made. This beautifully hand crafted box would have been made during the long voyage of a whaling ship. The star in...
Category

Late 19th Century American Antique Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Bone, Mother-of-Pearl, Walnut

Antique Swedish Wooden butter st1orage box 1800's Handmade Folk Craft
Located in Forest, BE
Swedish antique pine and birch wooden butter storage box . Fine quality of bentwood. It is a true piece from the early 19 century. Hand graved 1882 inside the lid. Nice addition in...
Category

Early 19th Century Swedish Antique Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Birch, Pine

Anthony Redmile Shell Encrusted Duck or Swan Box Redmile Objects London England
Located in W Allenhurst, NJ
Beautiful RARE Anthony Redmile shell encrusted swan or duck form box, 20th c. Red lined interior with "redmile objects london - england' stickers. Substantial weight.
Category

Mid-20th Century English Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Shell, Lacquer

19th Century American Birds Eye Maple Wood Box
Located in Stamford, CT
19th century birdseye maple box with brass nail head decoration and iron lock plate and hasp. This box is hand crafted with beautiful dovetail joints visible on the corners, evidence...
Category

Mid-19th Century American Antique Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Brass, Iron

Old Wooden Tramp Art Box Jewelry Box Trinket Folk Art
Located in Poperinge, BE
Beautiful old tramp art box, jewelry box or trinket, trinket box, made in the first half of the 20th century, Belgium. Beautiful form of folk art, anyone could make a tramp art obje...
Category

1920s Belgian Vintage Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Glass, Wood

Colorful Semi Precious Stone Rectangular Jewelry or Trinket Box with Lid
Located in Oklahoma City, OK
A beautiful colorful decorative box with lid created from Carrara marble and inlaid with a variety of semi-precious stones. The sides are inlaid with a variety of stones in abstract ...
Category

20th Century Indian Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Stone

Antique Swedish Wooden barrel 1800's Handmade Folk Craft great condition
Located in Forest, BE
Swedish antique pine and birch hand painted wooden barrel. Made to be used as a washing basin. Fine quality of bentwood. It is a true piece from the early 19 century. Beautiful patin...
Category

Early 19th Century Swedish Antique Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Birch, Pine

Tramp Art Box, Large Scale and Unusual Form. Circa 1900
Located in Stamford, CT
Large scale tramp art box of unusual form. At 2 feet wide quite impressive in scale and equally impressive in the ambition of the craftsman who created it. The geometry of the psuedo...
Category

Early 20th Century American Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Wood

Antique Swedish Wooden basket backpack 1800's Handmade Folk Craft
Located in Forest, BE
Swedish antique pine and birch wooden backpack storage box. It was use to pickup the berries in the woods. Fine quality of birch bentwood. It is a true piece from the early 19 centur...
Category

Early 19th Century Swedish Antique Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Birch, Pine

Early 19th Century Swedish Folk Art Travel Box / Chest with Originalpaint
Located in Boden, SE
Early 19th century Swedish Folk Art travel box from Skellefteå Västerbotten, Northern Sweden. Beautiful untouched originalpaint. Decorated with handwrought iron around the box and ov...
Category

Early 19th Century Swedish Antique Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Pine

Antique Swedish Forskrin, Folk Art Travel Box from the 1700s, Original Condition
Located in Kramfors, SE
Antique folk art box, a so called Forskrin which was used when travelling for storing documents and valuables around the late 1700s. Made in nor...
Category

Late 18th Century Swedish Antique Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Wrought Iron

Scandinavian 18th Century Folk Art Hat Or Wick Box
Located in Haddonfield, NJ
Large Danish wooden hat or wig box of wood with original painting.
Category

Mid-18th Century Danish Antique Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Wood

Russian Lacquered Palekh Firebird Folk Art Keepsake Trinket Box USSR 5.5"
Located in Dayton, OH
Vintage USSR Russian Firebird folklore / fairy tale keepsake trinket box featuring hinged lid, footed base and red interior. Palekh Zhar-Ptitsa (Slavic Firebird) Chernishova (last n...
Category

Mid-20th Century Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Hardwood, Lacquer

Antique Swedish Wooden basket 1800's Handmade Folk Craft Blue and black
Located in Forest, BE
Swedish antique pine and birch wooden storage box. It was painted blue with black edges. Fine quality of bentwood. It is a true piece from the early 19 century. More units could be f...
Category

Early 19th Century Swedish Antique Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Birch, Pine

Antique Swedish Wooden Kitchen Cabinet 1846 Handmade Folk Craft great condition
Located in Forest, BE
Swedish antique pine hand build wooden kitchen cabinet. Made to be used as a dough plater storage to the left side and a storage to the right side. Fine quality of wood. It is a true...
Category

Early 19th Century Swedish Antique Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Pine

Antique Swedish Large Wooden 'svepask' storage box, 1851, Handmade Folk Craft
Located in Balen, BE
Antique Swedish Large Wooden 'Svepask' Storage Box – Dated 1851, Handmade Folk Craft A rare and authentic example of 19th-century Swedish folk art, this large 'Svepask' storage box ...
Category

1850s Swedish Antique Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Bentwood

19th Century Swedish Wabi-Sabi Oak Lidded Box with Hand-Carved Patina
Located in Stockholm, SE
A soulful 19th-century lidded box handcrafted in Sweden from solid oak, showcasing the quiet beauty of the wabi-sabi aesthetic. This simple, round form reveals a deep, weathered pati...
Category

Early 19th Century Swedish Antique Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Oak

Vintage Tin Box Cookie Jar Belsnickel Santa Claus Vintage Germany, 1930s
Located in Nuernberg, DE
This beautiful decorative Christmas Tin Box with Santa or Belsnickle Picture is a true treasure. It was made in Germany, around 1930s. These are very har...
Category

1930s German Vintage Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Tin

Victorian Treenware Hanging Salt Box, 19th Century.
Located in Hannover, DE
I present to you a set of beautiful hanging salt box from the 19th century. The two are made out of wood, rich in colour and patination, They can be left standing but the intention b...
Category

Late 19th Century French Antique Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Wood

19th Century Treen Money Box A fine 19th century treen money box
Located in Godshill, Isle of Wight
19th Century Treen Money Box A fine 19th century treen money box, made in fruitwood with brass feet and handle, the money box is in good condition for its age, lovely colour and pat...
Category

1880s Antique Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Fruitwood

Vintage Indian Handcarved Wooden Decorative Box
Located in Copenhagen, DK
Handcarved wooden trinket box with carved geometric shapes, small handmade ornamental indentations and cream white decor on the lid. Rustic organic ...
Category

Mid-20th Century Indian Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Metal

Antique Swedish Wooden barrel early 1800's Handmade Folk Craft great condition
Located in Forest, BE
Swedish antique pine hand carved wooden barrel. Made to be used as a grain storage. Fine quality of wood. It is a true piece from the early 19 century. Beautiful patina on the inside...
Category

Early 19th Century Swedish Antique Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Pine

Folk Art Hand Painted Trinket Box in the Style of Peter Hunt Circa 1940s
Located in Peabody, MA
Primitive hand decorated trinket box in the style of the noted Provincetown folk artist Peter Hunt, ca. 1940s. Humorous interior label indicates it is "four of four of a kind" and ...
Category

1940s American Vintage Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Wood, Paint

Large Swedish Antique Folk Art Hand Made Pine Flour Box
Located in Kramfors, SE
Antique Swedish flour box made by hand in solid pine. The box is from northern Sweden and made around the mid 19th century, 1840 to 1850. The box is in untouched original condition w...
Category

Mid-19th Century Swedish Antique Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Pine

Antique Swedish Wooden basket 1800's Handmade Folk Craft natural color
Located in Forest, BE
Swedish antique pine and birch wooden storage box. It was left with the natural wood who now have a charming patina. Fine quality of bentwood. It is a true piece from the early 19 ce...
Category

Early 19th Century Swedish Antique Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Birch, Pine

Swedish 'Timplåda' Wooden Box, dated 1824
Located in Farsta, SE
Swedish 'Timplåda' Wooden Box, dated 1824 A 'timplåda' is a traditional Swedish wooden box, handcrafted with care. Popular during the 18th and 19th centuries, these boxes were used ...
Category

1820s Swedish Antique Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Birch

Decorative Wood Carved Tramp Art Keepsake Box or Sailors Valentine with Heart
Located in Oklahoma City, OK
A superb Folk Art sailors valentine Tramp Art keepsake box. Wide in form, this beautiful Primitive wood carved box features the letters S and M with a heart between on both sides. Tw...
Category

19th Century English Antique Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Metal

Antique Swedish Wooden butter storage box 1800's Handmade Folk Craft
Located in Forest, BE
Swedish antique pine and birch wooden butter storage box . Fine quality of bentwood. It is a true piece from the early 19 century. Painted blue and faded trough time. Nice addition...
Category

Early 19th Century Swedish Antique Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Birch, Pine

Whaler Made Bone and Ebonized Wood Round Lidded Box, circa 1850
Located in Stamford, CT
Whaler made antique bone and ebonized wood round box, circa 1850. With pierced bone medallion and delicately carved bone spiral decorative supports on the...
Category

Mid-19th Century American Antique Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Bone, Wood

Swedish Folk Art Hunting Box Dated 1802 in Oak
Located in Haddonfield, NJ
A Swedish oak-wood box from the Gustavian period dated 1802. The richly carved box with scenes of a dog hunting a deer, doves flying and black grouses. Decorated with a pattern of ro...
Category

Early 1800s Swedish Antique Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Brass, Iron

Antique Red Tole Metal Tea Coffee Countertop Storage Bin
Located in Haddonfield, NJ
Wonderful patina on this antique general store tea or coffee canister. Certainly a unique piece that could used on a kitchen counter or in a reta...
Category

Early 20th Century American Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Metal

Early 20th Century American Folk Art Box
Located in Chicago, IL
A fascinating and truly unique early 20th century American Folk Art box with the most wonderful Greek temple design with eight blue painted Doric columns around the perimeter and wit...
Category

Early 20th Century American Folk Art Decorative Boxes

Materials

Wood

Folk Art decorative boxes for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a broad range of unique folk art decorative boxes for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage decorative boxes created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include decorative objects, folk art, more furniture and collectibles and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with wood, softwood and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Folk Art decorative boxes made in a specific country, there are Europe, Scandinavia, and Sweden pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original decorative boxes, popular names associated with this style include Berber Tribes of Morocco, Anthony Redmile London, Arthur Court, and Frank Finney. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for decorative boxes differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $95 and tops out at $4,600 while the average work can sell for $850.

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