Carved Decorative Boxes

Antique 19th century Anglo-Indian jewelry, trinket footed box, inlay with ebony, mosaic marquetry Sadeli work and a carved Hindu scene on top. The box case is made from sandalwood wi...

The shape of the inactive Tronador volcano reminded us of the pyramid shaped idea of our boxes that make up this collection. With a rectangular or square base, the box is a reflectio...

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 fa...

A luxurious English writing box of circa 1879, in the manner of Tunbridge Ware using burled walnut that has been inlaid with mother-of-pearl and geometric marquetry. The top of the l...

Glaciar collection is meticulously handcrafted by our local artisans with these rectangular onyx pieces set around alpaca silver flower vases, boxes and trays. Our pieces are made b...

PRESENTING A GORGEOUS 19C Anglo Indian Highly Carved Sadeli Mosaic Sarcophagus Sewing Box. Made in Bombay, India circa 1860-80. Box made of sandalwood with highly carved teak wood reliefs and panels on all sides. Edged with bone and ebony veneers and glorious sadeli mosaic, made from tiny pieces of faux ivory, pewter, green semi-precious stone. The box is in a sarcophagus form with domed lid. The original brass carry handles are on the sides. The interior is in great condition and consists of a removeable mirror under the lid portion, with the original red velvet lining behind it. The base is removeable and contains a number of lidded compartments. 6 of the interior lids on the base, are each inlaid with sadeli mosaic banding. The rest are also carved and chased. The interior is fully complete with 7 lidded faux ivory/bone, thread canisters with sadeli domes and the original bone thimble. The box sits on 4 brass ball or bun feet with the original velvet lining on the base. Some minor repairs and losses, but this box is fully complete. This is ‘rare’ as many of these boxes have not survived in such condition! Included in the sale are 2 photos that were in the box (under the base tray). Interestingly, one of them is a view of downtown Nassau, New Providence (Bermuda) from the early 20C and stamped on the rear. What a ‘journey’ this piece has made! Made in India … travelled to Bermuda, probably via Britain … back to Ireland (where we bought it) …. then to Texas! 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! Of it’s type, this one, is one of the very higher quality one’s, than the norm! 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...

19th century American folk art box with decorated with inlaid hearts, diamonds, triangles and shields. Possibly sailor made, this sweet little box was likely a valentine or keepsake ...

Beautiful novelty bronze box with lovely theme of two love bird. Exquisite addition to any room.

A Moroccan Decorative Lidded Box, 20th Century Provenance: Private Australian Collection. Dimensions: Height: 27cm. Width: 31cm. Depth: 18cm.

Dutch Colonial ebony box with silver mounts, large silver hinges and the original steel lock and key. This rare box was likely made in the Dutch East India possession of Sri Lanka, o...

Spanish Colonial style painted and gilt wood table top vargueno, a chest with eight drawers and four doors with iron drop pulls. A sweet little chest with a lot of personality, decor...

Two 20th Century English Style Polychromed Carved Wood Apple Boxes/Tea Caddies  We are delighted to present this charming set of two 20th-century English-style polychromed carved wo...

Rectangular pocket cigarette case with long rounded sides in 925/1000 sterling silver with red and black fire-enamelled stripes. With button and spring opening. Measurements cm. 10.3...

FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING Exotic Coromandel Veneer From our Writing Box collection, we are delighted to offer this English Writing Box by George Betjemann & Sons. The Writing box o...

This exquisite 2-lb creation is crafted from the finest rare honey onyx sourced from Pakistan. Hand made by a master artisan in Italy, showcasing beautiful patterns and bands that ar...

Egg on tripod in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated with translucent fired enamel on guillochè, Russian Empire style inspired by Carl Fabergè eggs late 1800s, early 1900s. Measurem...

Round snuffbox in gold-plated 925/1000 sterling silver with fired enamel on the enamelled edge with vertical stripes and a fine floral miniature hand-painted by the painter M. Grumet...

A studio elder burl wood box, hand-crafted and signed by artist, Organic Modern style Post-Modern period, circa late-20th century. A beautiful hand-made blond elder burl wood box wit...

Decorative Mughal Raj Vizagapatam Carved Veneered Bone Jewelry Rectangular shape Box. Vintage Asian lidded box crafted with bone finely engraved and hand painted in black with geometric Moorish designs. Delightful Anglo Indian footed box crafted with an intricate patterned polished bone inlay mosaic over a wood frame. Handmade in Vizagapatam, India, mid 20th century. Elegant intricate pattern. A true work of Islamic artwork...

Swedish Empire Butter Box, ca 1820-1830 Beautiful dark pattern and color. Old repair and signs of wear. Made of Swedish Kolmården marble. Heigth: 7.5 cm/2.9 inch Width: 13 cm/5.1 ...

Rare Engine Turned Design The Sewing Box of slight sarcophagus shape stood upon four turned ribbed feet. The Sewing Box tapers up to the convex raised lid and features scrolling fl...

A Chippendale design mahogany tray of shaped rectangular form with shaped spindle gallery surround and open carrying handles to each side. Please note we are currently working to a ...

Handbag cigarette case in 925/1000 sterling silver with black fire enamel. Opening with spring button. Size cm. 6.3 x 9.7 x 1.5. Weight gr. 215. Created in Art Deco style for Cartier...

A Very Large 19th Century Antique French Baccarat Crystal and Ormolu Mounted Covered Box, Attributed to Baccarat. This incredible large crystal box is all hand-diamond cut and attri...

19th century inlaid Killarney ware writing slope circa 1870. Beautiful Irish killarney region writing slope, beautifully inlaid with the various woods they used to craft with. Killa...

19th century Japanese lacquer box of fish shape.  

Ladies’ cigarette case rectangular convex “olive” shape in 925/1000 sterling silver with black and white fire enamel with Art Deco style design. With “lost” hinge, that is semi-invis...

A refined and elegant silver serving dish with lid, measuring an impressive 30 cm in diameter, designed to bring both functionality and sophistication to the dining table. This beaut...

Gorgeous Tramp Art box / Jewelry box marked 1893 and decorated with brass. The box contains multiple guns & pike helmets and a lions head holding a brass ring to open the chest. ...

Anglo-Indian Mother of Pearl Inlaid jewelry Box. 1940s Victorian Anglo Indian box in silver, bone and mother of pearl Inlaid. An elegant Anglo Indian bon...

Place this elegant antique coal scuttle next to a fireplace or hearth for both function and charm. Crafted in England, circa 1880, the oblong bucket is hand-hammered in copper and si...

Pear Decorative Box in Teak - Mid-Century Wooden Jewelry Box - Danemark 1960s Nice wooden box shaped like a pear, very typical of Danish design from this era. It opens in two halve...

The shape of the inactive Tronador volcano reminded us of the pyramid shaped idea of our boxes that make up this collection. With a rectangular or square base, the box is a reflectio...

The shape of the inactive Tronador volcano reminded us of the pyramid shaped idea of our boxes that make up this collection. With a rectangular or square base, the box is a reflectio...

A large and very good quality French Art Deco style jewelry box made of walnut with fruitwood inlay. Hand-crafted with an eye to details. Grea...

Price is for the pair. This exquisite pair is crafted from the finest rare honey onyx sourced from Pakistan, using only single boards (full one piece slab) of stones for all sides of...

This exceptional geometric acrylic Lucite lidded box was designed in Italy. The piece was meticulously crafted circa 1960. This substantial box features a modernist shape with an inc...

Daniel Loomis Valenza Lidded Hand-Carved Box. Sculptural Lidded Box fits together like a glove! Beautiful Walnut with amazing grain. In very nice original condition!

A beautifully handcrafted pietra dura round marble trinket box, showcasing the centuries-old decorative art form perfected in both Mughal India and Renaissance Florence. The lid feat...

A 19th century Mughal dowry chest with carved patterns from India. This chest wooden chest with a slanted top strengthened by metal hardware reinforcements. The front displays lightly carved geometrical friezes. A large carved geometrical medallion adorns the triangular lid. The chest rests on four conical legs. This chest opens thanks to an door on the centre of its top. This unusual item was used as a dowry chest in India. This 19th century, Indian Mughal wood dowry chest...

The shape of the inactive Tronador volcano reminded us of the pyramid shaped idea of our boxes that make up this collection. With a rectangular or square base, the box is a reflectio...

Salta province is called the beautiful, and this adjective introduces us to its profound beauty. Its fertile valleys, windy desert, colorful mountains and blue sky are the images tha...

Exceptional studio glass box by renowned American-Austrian artist Jack Ink. Glass with inclusions and cast brass.This unique piece features a sinuous, undulating form with a shallow ...

An English burl mahogany and inlay jewelry box from the 1800’s. The top of this square box has an inlaid cartouche of ebony, birdseye maple, and oak with brass banding. The box opens...

Mid 19th Century Swedish Folk Art Travel box from Skellefteå Västerbotten, Northern Sweden. Beautiful untouched original paint. Dated 1858 Decorated with handwrought iron around the ...

Hand-carved large wooden Anglo-Raj jewelry box. Early 20th century wood box richly decorated overall with arabesques and floral carving. Hinged lid shallow relief carving with interi...

Set/3 Ceramic Jars & Pots, Lusitanus Home Collection, Handcrafted in Portugal - Europe by Lusitanus Home. Elegant and timeless, this white glazed ceramic vase features a refined...

Round Carved Cloud Design Box Cream Lacquer Hand Carved Wood Base Limited Edition Inclusions Vary Unique and one of a kind Lacquer is a technique that dates back to the Shang dynast...

7.5" x 3.5" x2" 8" x 4" x2.3" 9" x4.5" x 2.5" Tafi oval box, it is made entirely by hand in alpaca metal and onyx stone. It comes in three different sizes and you can choose between...

Italian Fossil Marble (Lumachella) Specimen Stone Box, Circa 1960s Two pieces, Lid and and Base This sculptural Italian specimen marble box dates to the circa 1960s and is crafted ...

An exceptional and fine antique French silver mounted mother of pearl box and with an exquisitely carved ducal with a maiden holding a coronet, elaborate monogram and a rod of Caduce...

Pill Box Silver is in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated 24carats. Pill Box Silver has light blue translucent fired enamels on guilloché. Pill Box Silver has a sliding lid and hole...

Dome Topped Stationary Box From our Boxes collection, we are delighted to offer this Victorian Hungarian Ash Stationery Box by Howell James & Co. The Stationary Box is veneered to t...

Handcarved wooden trinket box with carved geometric shapes, small handmade ornamental indentations and cream white decor on the lid. Rustic organic ...

Vintage carved wood box features Modernist abstract organic form and striking choice of solid wood. The sculpted rounded box is sliding inside its large owl shaped lid; the bottom o...

Heavily Inlaid with Mother of Pearl and Abalone From our Writing Box collection, we are pleased to offer this stunning Antique Inlaid Writing Box by Hausburg. The Writing Box of rec...

Cigarette case for handbag in 925/1000 sterling silver with black fired enamel. Opening with spring button.. Measure cm. 6.3 x 9.7 x 1.5. Weight gr.210. Created in the Art Deco style...

Octagonal table box in 925/1000 sterling silver with fire-enamelled Art Deco design. Dimensions diameter cm. 15.8 high cm . 8.2. Weight gr. 974. Designed by Giorgio Salimbeni for Cartier USA in the 1980s, inspired by objects designed by Louis Cartier around 1920 and manufactured in Florence in various specimens, also in parure with other objects and in different colors, in the headquarters by the Salimbeni firm with completely manual execution by artisan artists with thick slab and large reinforcements suitable for withstanding numerous high-fire enamelled firings at about 750°<800° C. About cooperation Salimbeni and Cartier. Our first meetings with the Cartier USA Company took place through the Giorgini Company, the first "Buying Office" set up in Florence immediately after the Second World War, which had the purpose of bringing together Florentine, and also Italian, producers with American buyers, who especially appreciated the artistic objects still manufactured by artisans who still took inspiration from the Italian Renaissance, using techniques handed down from generation to generation. Mrs. Gina Pestelli, wife of a Florentine retail jeweller, was in charge of contacts with Cartier USA, above all an employee, while her daughter, also for Giorgini, took care of the fashion that in those years was affirmed in Florence with the events of "Pitti ". With their help, we began to supply frames and boxes in sterling silver gold plated with malachite and other semi-precious stones. At the same time, the official buyer of Cartier, Mr. William Smith, began to appreciate and commission the first objects with fired enamels, a process of which we have always been specialists. In 1975 we began exhibiting at the prestigious New York Jewellery Association Show, which we participated in both the February and July editions, for a good 26 years until 2001. In New York in those years the "Art deco style" was still very much appreciated, still mindful of the beautiful early 20th century architecture of the great buildings such as the "Crysler" or the "Empire State". We then began to produce frames, boxes, evening bags, "objets de vertu" and other objects in "art deco style" which were very popular with Mr. Smith who gave us some photocopies of Louis Francois Cartier drawings to reproduce them. Thus, numerous cigarette cases, powder compacts, evening bags, frames and table boxes were created exclusively for Cartier USA which, at the time, had the prestigious "Silver Department" on the first floor of the Cartier store on Fifth Avenue. An evening bag, with matching cigarette case and powder compact, were redone on the design created for a gift given to Mary Pickford at the time. In a 1986 Cartier...

This Antique Carved Cinnabar Box. China. Early 20th Century with Dragon Cover and date to approximately 1920. The box is composed of brass with a vibrant blue enamelled interior and ...

A beautifully crafted and hand-carved Sculpture of a Cat, Stash box. The large and bulbous cat is stripped and quite handsome, the underside has a removable slide door that can hold...