South Asian Jewelry Boxes

Vintage trinket, trinket box made of inlaid camel bone, purple velvet inside, with a brass clasp, India, 70s. Beautiful and qualitatively made with brass inlaid details, the object ...

This box is a vintage Indian camel bone jewelry box. Rectangular shape with hand hammered brass details. Cover has pierced leaf pattern details and bra...

Exquisitely crafted early 20th century Anglo Indian micro mosaic Sadeli box with gorgeous antique Persian geometric pattern. The finely detailed box featu...

Vintage Rajasthani Indian vaulted dowry jewelry box, hand painted with Indian lovers enjoying each other, while beautiful court musicians accompany them ...

A scarce antique circa 1900 South Asian hand carved wooden decorative table box / jewel casket. Hand-crafted in the early 20th century, likely British Ceylon (present day Sri Lanka)...

Indian intricately hand carved Mughal floral design solid teak wood jewelry box with hinged top, c. 1960's. Ornate carving on top and all four sides around.

Vintage Moorish Mughal Raj jewelry box inlaid with semi-precious agate stones and covered with silvered metal filigree. Moorish Middle East jewelry...

Large Middle Eastern Indo-Persian Micro Mosaic Khatam Inlaid Wooden Jewelry Box. Middle Eastern Persian Sadeli micro mosaic marquetry inlaid box with geometric Moorish design. Handcrafted Khatam wooden box with very delicate micro mosaic marquetry from the ancient Middle Eastern technique of inlaying from arrangements of so many delicate pieces of precious hand painted wood, with bone around the edges. This beautiful Middle Eastern Persian, Indian Wooden box is covered with fine Moorish micro mosaic marquetry and is used as a jewelry, trinket box. Lined in deep red velvet. Dimensions: 6.5in.D x 3in.H x 10 wide. Nice Indian Mughal, Indo Persian Box...

Rare late 17th century Dutch colonial, probably Sri Lankan, Macassar ebony document box having deeply molded raised panel lid, original ri...

A South Indian 19th century cash box from Kerala with ornate brass hardware and weathered appearance. Step into the rich history and intricate artistry of South India with this 19th-...

Beautiful white marble jewelry box with floral inlay, made with different semi preciouses stones such as Malachite, Lapis Lazuli and Carnelian. It was made in India in the 1960's.

Exquisite Indian craftsmanship made of teak with decorative brass on a patinated surface. The brass fittings are hand-beaten, showcasing the exceptional skill of the artisans who cre...

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 inte...

Vintage hand carved wood jewelry trinket storage box with brass inlaid. Hand-carved large wooden Anglo-Raj jewelry box. Found in Kashmir, India. Mi...

Collection of 19th century Kashmiri items A highly decorative collection of 19th Century hand crafted Kashmiri objects including 6 different shaped boxes, a working lamp and urn....

Antique Rajasthani Shekhawati Merchant's Footed Chest Box India 1900's. Early 20th Century Indian carved wood storage cash footed box used by merchants in ...

PRESENTING a LOVELY 19C Anglo Indian Bombay MOP (Mother of Pearl) Sadeli Mosaic Trinket Box from circa 1875-85. Gorgeously detailed and hand-crafted ‘sadeli mosaic’ inlay, from the Bombay Area, with deep greens with silver, pewter, mother of pearl, bone and ebony in geometric patterns. The box case, is made of sandalwood but completely covered in MOP, bone, faux ivory, ebony and mosaic inlay. Edged with faux ivory and banded with a different pattern of sadeli mosaic. Some minor damage to the top (repair is obvious in pics) and ivorine replacements to some edging, but it still a BEAUTIFUL BOX and of real QUALITY! The mosaic work is FABULOUS! Box opens to reveal its original blue velvet lining. It sits on 4 (recently added) silvered button feet. 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...

Exotic Amboyna From our Jewellery Box collection, we are delighted to introduce this large Anglo-Indian Campaign Amboyna Box. The Amboyna Box of large rectangular form veneered in b...

19th century Anglo-Indian Mughal wood box, inlaid and hand carved with the Taj Mahal and some flowers all around. Jewelry box, Anglo-Raj box from India in great condition. Nice Mughal Bombay Box...

PRESENTING A LOVELY 19th century Anglo-Indian Carved Teak Wood and Sadeli Mosaic Box, featuring a carving of a Hunt Scene. Made circa 1870 in Bombay, India during the Rule of the Br...

PRESENTING A BEAUTIFUL and RARE 19C Anglo Ceylonese Specimen Wood Trinket Box. Made in ‘Galle’, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) circa 1860-80. Made for the ex...

Antique Persian Khatam Micro Mosaic Inlaid Jewelry Box with Miniature Polo Scene, circa 1940s This exquisite Persian Khatam Kari trinket box is a rare example of masterful micro mosa...

The rectangular Indian pen box with domed hinged lid is hand-painted with colorful figural Maharajah court scenes on top and floral designs on each side. Hand painted Rajasthani decorative writing...

A beautiful colorful decorative box with a lid created from Carrara marble and inlaid with a variety of semi-precious stones. The sides are inlaid with a variety of stones in abstrac...

Moorish style micro mosaic marquetry inlaid jewelry box with lid. Intricate inlaid Anglo Indian box with floral and geometric Islamic Moorish mosaic Sadeli design in a square shape form with mosaic inlay and 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...

Mid-20th Century Anglo-Indian Inlaid Bone Jewelry or Trinket Box. Box features hand-cut bone tiles arranged in a paneled pattern, giving the piece a subtle textural appeal and natura...

Labradorite semiprecious stone box with hinged lid. Labradorite displays an iridescent optical effect (or schiller) known as labradorescence. La...

Nettur Petti jewellery box, Dowry box, 19th century (possibly older) With piramid shaped lid. These boxes were inspired by the temple architecture of Kera...

19th century Kashmiri Hand Painted Trinket Box A true work of art, this mid-19th century Kashmiri handcrafted trinket box is covered in beautiful detail. Including peacocks, birds, flowers, and foliage. The hand painted detail is raised from the box with gold gilded paint and vibrant colours. The box is hinged with its original key and painted orange inside, this example would likely have been owner by a wealthy individual considering the amount of detail and craftsmanship that has gone into creating it, A rare survivor. Size of inches approx.: H 4” x W 11.5” x D 4.5” Completely solid in structure and form, with natural wear, loss of surface detail, the paint has worn away over years with damage in areas and loss of detail, The key is present however the lock does not close. The House of...

The dense carving of this 19th century South Indian sandalwood jewellery box is so lively and animated.

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 ...

Nice and unusual Jewelry decorative box with filigree bone overlaid decoration. Large Anglo-Indian footed domed box with exceptional engraved bone de...

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...

A beautiful Mughal motif wood box with a hinged lid. This lovely box will be a great way to hold jewelry or other trinkets. The top features a battle scene with two men on horses in ...

A Beautiful Anglo Indian, Colonial, brass inlaid teak jewelry lidded box made for the English market. handcrafted with floral and hearts brass inlays on top are surrounded by brass inlaid border, intricate brass inlays design of florals and scrolls carries through to all four sides so will display nicely on a shelf, desk or coffee table. Displays a desirable aged patina and the teak wood shows fine grain interest and deep caramel hues. A large Anglo-Indian teak colonial Campaign casket with brass inlay, the hinged cover opens to reveal an original fitted interior with two compartments interior lined with red velvet. This is a distinctive and highly appealing vintage semi antique Anglo Indian jewelry...

Set of 2 Anglo Indian boxes. Both early 20th century with bone and faux tortoise decorations. In overall good condition. The bone of the back from the larger box is absent and some s...

India, probably made in Gujarat for Portuguese Goa, late 17th/early 18th century The tortoiseshell laid over gold foil, and the interior with red lacquer and possibly later added re...

A splendid Dutch-colonial Sinhalese ebony two-door cabinet with silver mounts Sri Lanka, Kandy, 2nd half 17th century, the mounts later The cabinet with a central drawer with hidde...

A fine Indo-Portuguese inlaid teak wood figure of Nagini India, Goa, 17th century Measure: H. 55 cm (with stand, and with ring for wall hanging) The sculpture can be perceived as such but probably is one of four legs of an Indo-Portuguese contador...

An exceptional Indo-Portuguese colonial mother-of-pearl veneered casket with silver mounts India, Gujarat, 2nd half of the 16th century, the silver mounts Goa or probably Lisbon Measures: H. 16 x W. 24.6 x D. 16.1 cm An exceptional Gujarati casket with a rectangular box and truncated pyramidal lid (with slopes on each side and a flat top) made from exotic wood, probably teak (Tectona grandis), covered with a mother-of-pearl mosaic. The tesserae, cut from the shell of the green turban sea snail (Turbo marmoratus, a marine gastropod) in the shape of fish scales, are pinned to the wooden structure with silver ball-headed nails. The casket is set on bracket feet on the corners. The masterfully engraved decoration of the silver mounts follows the most refined and erudite Mannerist repertoire of rinceaux and ferroneries dating from the mid-16th century. The high quality and refinement of the silver mounts and, likewise, the silver nails that replaced the original brass pins used to hold the mother-of-pearl tesserae in place indicate the work of a silversmith probably working in Lisbon in the second half of the 16th century. The Indian origin of this production, namely from Cambay (Khambhat) and Surat in the present state of Gujarat in north India, is, as for the last three decades, consensual and fully demonstrated, not only by documentary and literary evidence - such as descriptions, travelogues and contemporary archival documentation - but also by the survival in situ of 16th-century wooden structures covered in mother-of-pearl tesserae. A fine example is a canopy decorating the tomb (dargah) of the Sufi saint, Sheik Salim Chisti (1478-1572) in Fatehpur Sikri in Agra district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, north India. This is an artistic production, geometric in character and Islamic in nature, where usually the mother-of-pearl tesserae form complex designs of fish scales or, similar to the dishes also made using the same technique, with the thin brass sheets and pins, stylized lotus flowers. The truncated pyramidal shape corresponds, like their contemporary tortoiseshell counterparts also made in Gujarat, to a piece of furniture used in the Indian subcontinent within the Islamic world prior to the arrival of the first Portuguese. This shape, in fact, is very old and peculiar to East-Asian caskets, chests or boxes used to contain and protect Buddhist texts, the sutras. A similar chest is the famous and large reliquary chest from Lisbon cathedral that once contained the relics of the city's patron saint, Saint Vincent. Both match in shape, having the same kind of socle or pedestal and bracket feet, and in their engraved silver mountings, featuring the same type of refined, erudite decoration. Their differences lie in the silver borders that frame the entire length of the edges of the chest (both the box and the lid), pinned with silver nails, and on the lock plate, shaped like a coat of arms in the Lisbon example. Given the exceptional dimensions of the reliquary casket...

A charming satin and rosewood, ebony and teak collectors’ table-cabinet Sri Lanka, second half of the 18th century Measures: H. 86.5 x W. 62.5 x D. 34.7 cm In the top of the shaped cornice, there is a carving of a butterfly or moth. Under the cornice two panelled doors with scorched chequered motif, and under the doors one long drawer. When the doors are locked, so is the drawer. Behind the two doors, there are eight drawers, suitable to store small collectors’ items, such as a coin collection, or mineral specimens, small shells, collections of animal teeth, etc. The 17th and 18th centuries saw a wide-spread interest in exotic cultures and collecting of botanical, zoological and geological specimens...

AN INDIAN ROSEWOOD AND EBONY BRASS MOUNTED BOX FOR THE ISLAMIC MARKET Malabar Coast, 18th century With a large drawer with several compartm...

A pair of very fine silver filigree rosewater sprinklers Possibly India, Karimnagar, early 18th century Measures: Height 31.6 cm and 31.7 cm,...