Bone Boxes

Large Georgian table or master snuff box of cushion form having tortoiseshell veneered front, back and end caps with green stained mulberry burl bottom and lid, the lid with a wood h...

Very fine early 19th century carved ebony writing slope, the exterior richly carved with foliate decoration, the interior profusely inlaid with bon...

Hand Crafted keepsake/desk box featuring hand cut and polished grey and red bone tiles over a wood box.

Tessellated horn box from the late 20th century with a dome top shape. Brass hinge and black painted interior. In great vintage condition.

Late 19th century tortoise shell needle case with a mother of pearl inlay. A knife box shape with a hinged lid and a package of the original needles in the original packaging marked ...

Handd dyed bone blue keepsake box with 3 brass inlay stripes.

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...

Maitland Smith tessellated polished horn and penshell jewelry box with brass trim.

A breathtaking example of Anglo-Indian artistry, this antique tea caddy is a masterpiece of meticulous craftsmanship. The domed lid and sides are veneered in a stunning, highly-figur...

A very well crafted tessellated horn and wood veneer trinket box in the style of R & Y Augousti, circa 1990s. The piece is in very good condition and measures 4.75" W x 4.75" D x 3.2...

Chest, box forming a cabinet, Orientalist art, 19th century, Napoleon III period. A 19th century Napoleon III period wood and bone marquetry cabinet box, Orientalist. H: 24cm, W: 31...

Art Deco Burled Walnut glove box of rectangular form with bone edges and slightly domed top. Relined.

An English tortoiseshell box on ivory ball feet. Complete with all original interior, no key. England, circa 1800s to 1820s.

Blonde Tortoiseshell Tea Caddy, England 19th Century

An immaculate and elegant survivor from 18th century England, this exceptional tortoiseshell tea caddy showcases fine craftsmanship and exquisite materials. The caddy features sterli...

A very large faux tortoiseshell tea caddy from England. Lovely shape and sterling plate on top this hasn't been monogramed. Sitting on ball feet, circa 1860.

Presenting an absolutely gorgeous and very rare 19C Anglo Indian Vizigapatam stamp box. Made in Colonial India (the Time of the Raj) circa 1860. Prob...

Beautiful solid rosewood with silver plate lid and tessellated bone top , circa 1970's well crafted unique piece great for rings earings necklaces, etc.

Nice condition for its age. Does not have key. Has original sewing box utensils inside - spools, etc.

Green tortoiseshell tea caddy from England. With two interior covers raised on four silver ball feet. Circa 1870.

An elegant modern style tessellated bone trinket box with black felt-lined interior. Mostly cream in color, but does have hints of light pink througho...

The case with geometric pattern design. Two drawers with etched bone panels and carved drawer moldings. Bun feet. With key.

This wonderful example of a 19th century tortoise shell sewing box on stand opens to original fabric lined interior of compartments with a central ...

1960s Handcrafted Bone Inlaid Trinket Moroccan Wood Trinket Box. Handmade artisanal mid century inlaid trinket decorative lidded Moroccan box. This hexagonal shaped decorative box ha...

Art Deco shagreen covered wooden box in unusual coral red color with ball feet and bar lid lift.

This is a finely hand-painted West Asian miniature artwork on a ceramic/porcelain box, probably made of leg plates, framed, and painted. The work features an extremely fine painting ...

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...

Modernist Cornflower/Hydrangea lavendar bone keepsake box lined in wood. A great addition to any coffee table, bedside or desk.

Victorian Miniature Black forest Antler Casket 1860 A marvelous antique rustic casket. It is made of wood, veneered with antler pieces. On top an antler plaque...

English Georgian Tortoise shell hinged sewing box with a gadrooned molded edge lid, fitted tufted interior, and resting on the original silver plate winged paw feet. Early 19th Century

Exceptionally detailed 19th century carved bone gunpowder flask Italian, 19th Century Height 36cm, diameter 11cm This unconventional gunpowder flask, created in Italy in the 19th ce...

19th Century English Blonde Tortoiseshell Tea Caddy

Decorative keepsake/jewelry box clad in natural and dyed bone tiles. Top is in a Moorish motif of inlaid Turquoise bone elements. Handcrafted.

English Georgian Chinroserie bow front tortoise shell tea caddy with a hinged tiered lid, Chinese landscape mother of pearl inlays with flanking pagodas, fences, & foliage trees, central paktong plaque and escutcheon, bone fitted interior border with two lidded tortoiseshell foil lined compartments, and resting on the original four bone ball...

Cheveron patterned keepsake, letter box made from dyed orange and natural bone. Box has a wood lining.

This is a finely hand-painted West Asian miniature artwork on a ceramic/porcelain box, probably made of leg plates, framed, and painted. The work features an extremely fine painting ...

A antique tortoiseshell singing bird box, most probably by Bontems, Going barrel movement, Gilt metal two-tone brilliance... When wound and start/stop slide moved to the right, the bird pops up through foliate chased gilt grille, then proceeds to move bone beak, wings and body from side-to-side to good complex continuous synchronized birdsong. The bird with streaked feathered plumage in brown, yellow, turquoise and red, lime green and purple iridescent highlights, highly polished lid interior for full bird reflection, in plain polished tortoiseshell case, twinned laurel leaf engraved bird lid border with the bird lid engraved with love birds and rose united beneath leaf swag arch, accentuated with gilt on silvered ground, hidden key...

Tortoise cigarette and match box with sterling mounts. Priced per box. We also have numerous other tortoise boxes and accessories. Feel free to call or email with questions.

19th Century English Blonde Tortoiseshell Tea Caddy

These three antique handcrafted inro cases, are a wonderful collection of Japanese Sagemono (hanging object). These inro have several sections stacked ...

Stunning Lacquer Lidded Box made in Italy. Lavender lacquer offset with Brass Piping and Bone corner detail. Wood lined with a tight fit. Matching picture frame...

19th century English brass and bone banded calamander box with dome top.

Large 19th Century Tortoiseshell Sewing Box

Gorgeous inlaid black shell and bone decorative trinket box by A&Y Augousti of Paris, circa 1990s. The box is made of wood with a intricate diamond pattern shell overlay and is in ex...

An antique Russian sewing box made of bone, dated 1828 on the lid. Decorated with an etched trailing foliage pattern and topped with original green pin cushion. Lined with original g...

A large Indian Colonial ‘Vizagapatam’ pen-engraved bone inlaid ebony box Masulipatnam or Vizagapatam, 2nd half 18th century H. 10.8 x W. 47 x D. 34 cm ...

Antique Chinese bone and copper mounted box. Chinese, 19th century. Measures: height 13 cm, width 26 cm, depth 14.5 cm. This fine Chinese box...

Pair of English Tortoise Shell Victorian Silver Mounted Tea Caddies c.1890 w/ Original Keys.

English octagonal hinged black lacquered tea caddy with gilt stenciled figural pagoda, decorative foliage motif, original hand chased lidded in...

Faux tortoiseshell Cabinet with top and sides decorated with inlays of bone and different kinds of wood, creating geometric figures. The front is made up of 6 drawers framed by strip...

Mexican cabinet. Made of tortoiseshell, pen-engraved and wood. Possible Oaxaca or Puebla, 17th century.

A good antique composition tortoiseshell and gilt metal singing bird box, German circa 1900 Going-barrel movement Setting the birds free... When wound and the sta...

A scintillating Sapphic scene adorns the cover of this rare erotic snuff box. Set into the top of this burlwood and tortoiseshell container, this high...

An anglo Indian workbox made of ebony. The tray lifts up from the box on the lid which is also inlaid in ivory and ebony and has a bone round disc that is signed New Bedford 1810. Th...

A fine early 19th century coromandel work box with moulded front design and fitted interior containing a super collection of sea shells. Ivory registration number 8NEDUS4R.

A high quality and most elegant French 19th century Louis XV st. Ormolu and Tortoiseshell box. This truly stunning rectangular box is raised on four scrolling Ormolu acanthus leaf le...

A fine Regency period rectangular tea caddy, veneered in panels divided by fine metal stringing. Silver metal escutcheon and key. Complete with an initialled plaque on the lid and ro...

A dutch tortoiseshell box with two engraved silver plaques Amsterdam, 1691, with maker's mark of Steven des Rousseaux (1654-1733) H. 5 cm Diam. 12.5 cm Note: Steven des ...

Contemporary Indian lidded bone box with intricate raised geometric pyramid design. Added texture by etching the bone pieces. Black, ivory and tan. Wood lined interior. Part of a lar...

In great condition for its age. With bone handle pulls.