Inlay Decorative Boxes

"Japanese Kusuri Dansu – Apothecary Box With Yosegi Marquetry & Raden Inlays " A finely crafted Japanese Kusuri Dansu (薬箪笥), or apothecary chest, featuring exceptional geometric marq...

Precious rectangular sewing box in rosewood veneer called. Uncovered, it presents a mirror with braids on the back of the lid. This charming sewing set is lined with moire and pink velvet and is composed of two small square porcelain bottles with openwork polychrome flowers, marked "L" on the bottom, a removable rectangular pad supporting two spools of gold thread and finely chiseled with a central chiseled cartridge-shaped, overhung by a button. A central tray on a raised base holds five sewing items...

18th century inlaid mahogany Georgian serpentine knife box circa 1790 Good quality decorative box, serpentine fronted and an inlaid with a shell patera to the hinged lid. Many other...

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...

Water flowing over rocks creates a contrast between the sparkle of the water and the relative opacity of the rocks. In these boxes black lacquer pours over natural shells that glow a...

This box is a jewelry box or a decorative box. It was made in the 1970s, in France. Its lid is made of a checkerboard rectangle in wood. It is brown in color.

Brulé means 'burnt' in French. Raw and delicate, the Brulé boxes evoke the idea of baked earth or ashes. There is a powerful energy in the details of decisio...

Presenting an absolutely stunning 19c Anglo Ceylonese sewing box of museum quality. Made in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) circa 1860, this is one of the finest sewing boxes of it’s kind that we have ever seen! The box is made from coromandel wood (an exotic hardwood found in Ceylon) and has a serpentine edging all over the front, back and sides. Very often the lids/tops of these boxes suffer cracks due to shrinkage but this one is near perfect with no crack in the lid/top. There is some evidence of natural shrinkage but that is around the edges of the lid/top. It is when you open this box that it reveals it’s true beauty, quality and treasure ! The inside of the lid/top is heavily and beautifully decorated with inlaid bone in scrolling floral patterns which have then been hand painted with red and black ‘lac’ ink. The central medallion is a circle of inlaid specimen exotic hardwoods radiating towards a central bone and hand painted flower. The circle is edged in bone, wood and silver chevrons. What makes this box Exceptionally rare is that it contains 3 lift out base sections. Normally, there would be a maximum of 2. The first tray/section is clearly for the purposes ancillary to sewing with a pair of sections with bone spools for thread etc. There are 17 other lidded compartments with each one highly decorated using hand painted bone and specimen woods to replicate tortoiseshell. The first tray lifts out to reveal a second removeable tray which is made up of a pair of open sections and 8 specimen wood lidded sections each with chevron banding. The third tray is a smaller tray underneath with 14 lidded compartments each with hand painted bone and specimen wood inlaid lids again, replicating the look of tortoiseshell. Again they are banded with a chevron border. This is a museum quality piece ! It is in fantastic condition for it’s age with the minor shrinkage to the edges of the lid/top, some finger pulls missing and some very minor cracks to the tray lids and bases but nothing that in any way detracts from the piece. No key. Dimensions: Closed the box is 16.75 inches wide, 11.25 inches deep and 7.5 inches high Fully open the box is 16.5 inches high, 16.75 inches wide and 11.4 inches deep Anglo-Indian and ceylonese boxes: 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. Anglo-Indian boxes normally consist of 3 main types:- (1) Most of the best and highest quality Anglo-Indian boxes in the 18th and 19th centuries were made in Vizagapatam, India, renowned for its exquisite craftsmanship in using ivory and tortoiseshell and lac decoration. These are referred to as ‘Vizagapatam Boxes...

This exceptional, 18 carat gold Easter egg was crafted by the famous London-based royal jewellers, Asprey & Co. The piece was then retailed by Garrard & Co, who once worked in collaboration with Asprey, producing luxury jewellery and silver for an elite clientele. The egg has been crafted from gold filigree — that is, gold wires interwoven to make a delicate lace-like pattern. The gold is arranged to form the image of a peacock, with a magnificent fanned train, composed of red, dark blue and green coloured plique-à-jour enamel. The light blue body of the peacock, and its long swirling light and dark blue tail feathers, have been crafted from intricate guilloché enamel, which is often found on Fabergé style eggs...

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...

A very handsome 19th century dresser box hand constructed in Arbutus wood. (Arbutus wood is an indigenous wood specific to the southwestern region of Ireland). The hinged lid featuri...

This exquisite French Napoléon III black lacquer box is a fine 19th-century desk accessory distinguished by its elegant proportions and Boulle-style decorative cartouche. Crafted wit...

FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING Casket Shaped boulle Sewing Box with Full Contents From our Sewing Box collection, we are delighted to introduce to the market this English Boulle Sewing B...

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...

This box is a jewelry box or a decorative box. It was made in the 1970s, in France. Its lid is made of a checkerboard rectangle in Brass, and wood. It is gold and brown in color.

An antique English Tunbridge box with geometric inlay, hinged lid, red velvet interior, felted bottom and comes with working key. The box with a diamond form inlaid medallion flanked...

Large box built in spring wood with ebony veneer and geometric inlays in bronze and spring wood. The influence for this piece came from Marion Dorn's design of the black and cream g...

There is type of English sweet called a Licorice Allsort. They are made in different layers and some have little balls covering them. The red lacquer and the little white pieces of e...

A beautiful 'as is' late 18th or early 19th century example of 'Marqueterie de Paille', or straw marquetry, work box. The top inlaid with a wonderful cityscape, with early architectu...

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...

Unique low cabinet with intarsia designed by the architect, artist and craftsman Viktor Lurje (1883-1944) and manufactured by Wiener Werkstätte GmbH, circa 1926. Together with Oskar ...

Stunning mosaic design, this intricate quite large wood jewelry box is made from multiple micro pieces of wood, mother of pearl with some possib...

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...

Fitted Tunbridge Ware Sewing Box Interior From our Tunbridge Ware collection, we are delighted to offer this Tunbridge Ware Sewing Box. The Rosewood box of rectangular form extensiv...

Neoclassical Vanity Box, Walnut with Inlays, Velvet Interior, from South Germany circa 1900. Solid walnut body. Lid inlaid with ebony, maple, and burl wood. Slightly sloping at the ...

A beautiful and top condition antique black forest jewelry box, carved on all sides. This rare and large jewelry box makes a beautiful accessory for a lady with an eye for fine arts. It is a very well fine carved gem and highly practical with a good working lock and key. The detailed leafs, branches and flowers on top and the marvelous blue...

Exquisite handcrafted box decorated with intricate traditional Middle Eastern marquetry. Made of dark wood with geometric inlays of bone, mother-of-pearl, and green-stained elements,...

A 19th Century Biedermeier Swedish Jewelry box in oak with an ornamental inlay decoration. The fine intarsia work, featuring a floral pattern, is...

FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING Boulle stationery box by Leuchars & Sons, dating to the late nineteenth century during the Victorian period, circa 1880. The box is of rectangular form with...

Luxurious red coral box from Maitland-Smith. This beautiful box crafted of authentic red coral tiles is luxurious and glamorous. Each of the pieces that ...

Felt-lined lidded box all handcrafted from natural stones Indigenous to the Philippines.

A brilliant Kazaribako "Ornamented Box" made of glass by Japanese artist Kyohei Fujita (1921-2004) circa 1990s. The hand-blown green glass box featur...

Huge wonderfully decorated wooden box, an original of the Jugendstil era, made in Austria. This casket is an impressive example of the craftsmanship of the period around 1900. Only ...

Alfred Louis Achille DAGUET (1875 - 1942) was a metalsmith active in Paris during the first part of the 20th century. His metalwork created prior to the outbreak of World War I, note...

Austro-Hungarian empire mechanical vesta tinder case made by Karl Rössler Beautiful antique fusee vesta tinder case, created in Vienna Austria around the...

Handcrafted Khatam wooden box with very delicate micro mosaic marquetry from the ancient Persian technique of inlaying from arrangements of so many delicate pieces of wood, precious wood, and delicate miniatures paintings. This beautiful Middle Eastern Persian style box is covered inside and out with fine Moorish micro mosaic marquetry. Indo Persian Moorish style micro mosaic inlaid jewelry box with lid. Intricate inlaid Asian Indian box with floral and geometric Islamic Moorish Sadeli design in a square shape form with inlay marquetry, very fine artwork, lined in red velvet. Museum collector piece like the one in Doris Duke Islamic Art Museum. The repeating geometric patterns of Sadeli Mosaic are what give it beauty and richness. This decorative technique is a type of micro mosaic featuring repeating geometric patterns. A highly skilled craft, it has had a long history in India and the Middle East with early examples dating back to the 16th century. In the 1800s, it became popular as a decoration on a variety of boxes, card cases, and chess boards imported from India. Since Bombay became a center of making them, they became known as Bombay boxes...

An Important and Rare 17th to 18th Century Italian Pietra Dura Ormolu Mounted Ebony Jewelry Box/ Casket, attributed to Ducal workshop. The rectangu...

Circa 1901, Erhard & Söhne, Germany, a Jugendstil/Art Nouveau brass and rosewood string box, decorated in the round with children playing tug-of-war. The lid is beautifully decorated...

Middle Eastern Sadeli micro mosaic inlaid jewelry footed box with lid. Intricate inlaid box with floral and geometric Moorish design. Sadeli micro mosaic designs in mosaic marquetry, very fine artwork. Lined with red velvet and glass, top final and feet are brass. A highly collectible example in superb condition complete Circa 1900. Museum piece like the ones in Doris Duke Islamic Art Museum. Middle Eastern Arabian Micro Mosaic Moorish...

A beautiful modern style or Postmodern period marble and brass box with Jewish Star of David design, circa late-20th century, 1980s, 90s. Box, att...

19th century Anglo-Indian sandal wood box, Sadeli mosaic box fitted with various compartments finely hand-carved with the Taj Mahal. Of sarcophagus form ...

Antique 19th century French Boulle/Napoleon III marquetry box. The wooden box is decorated with inlaid brass and tortoiseshell and red silk textile inside. Including key. Signed: Aud...

19th century victorian burr walnut desk top writing slope circa 1870. Fine quality english made victorian writing slope.  Exterior of rich burr walnut with tunbridge ware inlay deco...

Discover the timeless elegance of this large, handcrafted Middle Eastern Lebanese jewelry box, a stunning testament to traditional artistry. Meticul...

Handcrafted marquetry Moorish wood inlay micro mosaic with miniature hand painted scene. Handcrafted khatam wooden box with very delicate micro mosaic marquetry from the ancient Pers...

A lacquer presentation box with mother-of-pearl inlays from Japanese Ryukyu Islands circa 17-18th century. The lidded box in rectangular form with rounded corner is a classic example...

PRESENTING an ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS and EXTREMELY UNIQUE and RARE 19C British Tunbridgeware Micromosaic Lap Desk. This lap desk is unlike any of it’s kind we have seen before. From c...

An English 19th century decorative box with lift up lid opening on original brass hinges to reveal a good sized storage compartment lined with the original hand-crafted sapphire blue...

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 ...

19th Century Japanese Meiji Period Parquetry Table Top Kodansu Cabinet With An Arrangement of Seven Drawers & Metal Handles & Finishings

A rare French marqueterie de paille (colored straw marquetry) sewing work box. Delicately hand-crafted in Provincial Burgundy, France, late 18th / ...

Lapis lazuli hand carved mosaic lidded box, with white marble interior. Natural lapis stone has beautiful golden pyrite inclusions, like a sprinkling of fairy dust. The lapis mosaic...

Great decorative Moroccan Tribal flask.. African decorative brass with front richly decorated with embossed brass and overlay. The valve stem turns and open. Truly a conversation mu...

Designed by eccentric woodworker and designer Don Shoemaker, this trinket box was made by Senal in Mexico. It employs a cacophany of exotic woods, including cocobolo, jacaranda, and ...

Antique French Napoleon III box with inlaid bronze decor, polished black color surface and red velour textile inside. Includes key. After the r...

Exquisite handcrafted Middle Eastern mosaic marquetry inlaid walnut wood box. Small box intricately decorated with Moorish motif designs which h...

The Paris based label has distinguished themselves since their launch, with their iconic use of shagreen mixed with brass and other exotic materials. All furniture is handcrafted by ...

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...

Water flowing over rocks creates a contrast between the sparkle of the water and the relative opacity of the rocks. In these boxes black lacquer pours over natural shells that glow a...

The Paris based label has distinguished themselves since their launch, with their iconic use of shagreen mixed with brass and other exotic materials. All furniture is handcrafted by ...