Metal Boxes

Very rare 1930s Italian tin box lithographed in color by Talmone Unica Italia, made by Metalgraf Milano based on a design by Beppe Porcheddu (Turin 1898/1947), illustrator, ceramist ...

A set of three impressive solid Silver Tea Caddies decorated with ornated chased designs on the body and foot. Each has a chased push fit lid topped with a lovely berry and leaf fini...

Seven resplendent Sèvres porcelain plaques surround this magnificent doré bronze box. The bright floral motif on the plaques perfectly matches the intr...

Art Deco Carved Iron Box An Art Deco style iron box, an object that stands out for its refined aesthetics and practical functionality. The piece has a classic circular shape, with a ...

A gorgeous glass top trinket box made of ormolu. The hinged top featuring a City view of Meran. No restoration has been carried out on this charming little trinket box, which remains...

A Fantastic 19th Century French Louis XVI Style Dore Bronze Mounted Black Crystal Box. The box is composed of two sections of French black crystal wh...

An object of striking allure, this monumental Murano glass box radiates refinement through its sculptural geometry and richly saturated emerald hue. The clarity of the hand-blown cry...

Antique early 20th Century crocodile leather bound jewellery box. This charming box features a brass plaque, brass surround and locking mechanism. The box features a velvet lined int...

Large porcelain hand painted Limoge box in the shape of an egg. Trimmed in a gilded bronze. Egg is painted a rich burgundy color with gold accents.

1970's Jewelry boxe in leather and brass. Wrote DIOR with different kind of letters. France.

Leather trunk Spanish, 17th century Boiled Leather, wood and iron Measures: 22 x 53 x 32 cm. Provenance : - collection Metz-Noblat, Château de Clevant, France Rectangular trunk of the form and size of a small suitcase with wrought iron hinges and lock-plate. Wood, covered with leather, cut and embossed with every surface of the thick cow hide covered in interlace, zoomorphic features. The construction method is boiled leather, often referred to by its French translation cuir-bouilli: a process used to change flexible, vegetable-tanned leather into rigid, moulded objects. For shaping of the vegetable-tanned leather, heat and moisture were used, as indicated by the term boiled leather. No written medieval sources describing the production of decorated cuir bouilli objects survive, so knowledge of the process relies on the important studies of the Scottish leather historian John William Waterer. A large range of methods, materials and techniques could be used in various combinations. The vegetable-tanned leather, made supple with moisture and heat, was stuffed, shaped and nailed to the rigid wooden coffer support. The stuffing material was probably modeled beeswax or stearin wax. To shape the leather, to create its topography, « Cushions » were made by lacing a thread through an awl hole and attaching the flexible leather and stuffing to the rigid wooden support on the bottom. Then the decoration was done: lines were incised through the upper layer of the leather (epidermis) with different thicknesses of knives or needles. Contours were created with deep v-shaped cuts, decoration with thin incision and final details with a needle point. For the incision and pouncing stage, the leather was probably kept heated and moistened for suppleness. Once dry, the leather would be hard and rigid. the saturated leather is worked over a form, possibly even damp sand, with the pattern shaped using bone or wooden tools. Compare to metal, leather was lighter and it offered protection from cuts and punctures. Cuir bouilli objects were produced by specialist leather workers and needed skillful craftsmanship. The surface is filled with roundels shaped foliages enclosing animals, lions and peacocks. The foliate arabesques creating a vegetal connection tweet the animals create the impression of a lush verdant space . The vegetal pattern here employed in combination with geometrical pattern came from the pre-islamic artistic traditions of the Byzantine and Sasanian empires. An aspect of Islamic geometry Is the basic symmetrical repetition and mirroring of the shapes that create a sense of harmony. The decoration of this truck is inspired by the islamic « arabesque » a form of vegetal ornament composed of spirals, intertwining plants and abstract curvilinear motifs. An arabesque character is given to the birds of the decorations through extreme stylisation. This arabesque maintained the classical tradition of median symmetry, freedom in Detail and heterogeneity of ornament. The presence of the peacocks is a paradisiacal allusion: in popular Islamic literature they were among the original inhabitants of the garden of Paradise expelled with Adam and Eve. Peacock as a decorative motif may have originated in the West, despite their eastern provenance. There was an ancient belief that the flesh and feathers of peacock do not decay. This led to the peacock becoming a christian symbol for Christ’s resurrection. Renowned for their decorative wall hangings, seventeenth-century Spanish leatherworkers also produced utilitarian objects, such as this trunk. A similar trunk is on display at the Metropolitan museum of art ( 09.158.1). Related literature : Davies L. 2006. Cuir bouilli. Conservation of leather and related materials, 94-102, Oxford: elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann Grabar, Oleg. The Mediation of Ornament. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992 Gabriela Germana Roquez, "El mueble en el Peru en el siglo XVIII...

A rare and exquisite silver and enamel Art Deco musical cigarette and singing bird box. the singing bird with good multitone feathered plumage with highlights in red, yellow and blue, moving beak, tailfeather, flapping wings and turning in-sync to the continuous and melodic birdsong, rising through chased and pierced gilt grille, bird-form centrum, matt gilt bird lid interior, actuated by pull to the side. The separate musical movement within the case playing the rondo theme from the Fledermaus waltz by Strauss, from the single-air cylinder Cruendet movement, actuated from hidden start/stop pin in the cigarette compartment lid. The lined interior for cigarettes with matching matt gilt interior, within the stunning high-Art Deco case of rectangular form, with twin ovals with turquoise enamel ground and chased diamond-form gilt centres, one of which is the bird lid, all framed by ever decreasing alternate white enamel and tooled silver bands, the widths and ends of the case with matching design and with oblong centres, cigarette lid with plain raised thump grip, the underside with matt gilt finish, captive musical movement winding key and singing bird winding spindle, all raised upon four elegant silver bracket feet...

We have specialized in the sale of Art Deco and Art Nouveau and Vintage styles since 1982.If you have any questions we are at your disposal. Pushing the button that reads 'View All F...

American Brilliant Period Cut Glass and Gorham Sterling Silver Yacht Humidor, Dated July 4th, 1906 – “Issaquena” A rare and evocative example of American decorative arts, this super...

This is a fine example of an early 20th C rectangular bronze betal nut box with beautiful and elaborate silver inlay from Mindanao in the Philippines. The box has a handle on each si...

Rectangular box with rounded corners in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated with translucent fired enamel on a guilloché with hand-engraved and enamelled ornament in Arabic style. D...

This box is in a black and Orange lacque. It has been made in Vietnam circa 1970. The decorative pattern is with fishes under the water. The hinges o...

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...

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 Chinese cloisonné enamel brass trinket box.

A Very Rare George III Silver Mounted Red Morrocan Leather Penner Made circa 1790. The Penner has a red Morrocan leather case with silver upper bands and a vacant oval cartouche The...

A charming scarce Spanish Colonial era parquetry inlaid cedar legged storage chest (large table box / small trunk) with nicely aged warm rich dark patina. circa 1790 Rustic handmade...

Black, red, and gold painted tin charity box, The Netherlands, circa 1915. Used for collecting funds for the Jewish hospital. Decorated with Stars of ...

A stylish round container fashioned from pewter and inlaid with a red/brown material. Applied rose buds around its perimeter. Designed and made by Christian R. Kunst in Denmark circa...

X-Small egg in 925/1000 gilded silver with translucent enamel on fire on guilloché and hand-painted miniature of garlands in Russian Art Nouveau style, inspired by the eggs of Carl F...

Box rosewood and brass inlay cover Art Nouveau by Erhard and Soehne, circa 1900.

Very nice and early overture music box, probably by Lecoultre (alltough unsigned). The key wind mechanism plays 4 overtures with a nice and bright tone on a very fine comb. The fad c...

Hallmarked in London in 1797 by Robert Sharp, this rare and exceptional quality, George III, antique sterling silver tea caddy set, comprises two oval tea caddies and a sugar caddy...

Antique early 20th century Austrian solid silver & hand painted enamel cigarette case. Stunning quality, richly parcel gilt, the cover enamelled with a young nude girl in her bed, surrounded by draped silk sheets...

Handcrafted silvered metal trinket box with insets of semi-precious stones in hues of red jasper, green malachite, yellow citrine, and red carnelian agate. The round box has a series...

- Once courtship is complete, male and female swans bond for life and this delightful pair of Japaneer cloisonné swans symbolize love and const...

An absolutely stunning large antique Viennese sterling silver pill box made from a hefty gauge of Austrian silver. All sides are decorated with a white guilloche enamel showcasing...

Antique 835 Silver Tea Caddy - lidded Box Christoph Widmann Germany handmade Half moon & crown Weight: 229 grams The condition can be seen in the pictures.

Chapman Manufacturing Company designed this stunning, oversized lidded brass decorative box or magazine storage stand in the 1980s. The box boasts a tall geometric shape and a massiv...

A small French sterling silver pill box, Art Nouveau period, decorated with flowers and a gold gilt interior, circa late-19th century, France. Piece ...

German enamel box, circa 1750.

A sublime box handcrafted by American silversmith, John Prip, comprising a hollowed and polished granite river stone inset with rim and finished with a handwrought lid, both in sterl...

Here we have a Victorian (1837-1901) Walnut & Brass Writing Box. This opens to form writing slope set with black leather with a gold patterned embossing detail surround. Both the top...

A box for playing cards made in maple with decor in chrome and enameled symbols for spades, hearts, cloves and diamonds. The box has a hinged lid and inside there are three compartme...

A well painted Chinese Canton enamel lobed round box and cover featuring the Eight Immortals, with a Qianlong mark to the underside, late Qing Dynasty, circa 1900, China The deligh...

A ruyi-shaped Shakudo-style erotic tobacco or snuff box, relief-decorated with silvered applied figures Possibly Jakarta (Batavia), first half 18th century Measures: H. 2.2 x L. 12.1 x W. 8 cm This box is very much in the Dutch taste, for the illustration is after a print with a legend reading “L’oiseau sans cage. Prenez, belle, mon oiseau. C’est le plus doux présent que je puisse vous faire. Pour les autres oiseaux, la cage d’ordinaire est une espèce de tombeau. Mais le mien semble prendre une nouvelle vie, Lorsqu’il sera dans la cage de mon aimable Silvie.” The erotic message is as clear as can be. In Dutch culture the verb ‘vogelen’ (catching a bird) is another word for having sex and a bird escaping from his cage indicates loss of chastity. The lady with the bare breasts, while making the sign of sealed lips to the lady behind her, who is pointing towards heaven, seems to be caressing the bird held in the sleeping man’s groin. 17th century Dutch pictures...

This delightful porcelain and enamel box perfectly exemplifies the esteemed French Limoges tradition. It features a meticulously hand-applied pink and blue floral scene against a bro...

Rectangular/octagonal table box in 925 silver. The box was completely handmade in Florence at the end of the last century. Engraved with floral and abstract motifs, it has been fin...

A vintage 20th century Dunhill humidor set, crafted from lacquered burl wood with a Spanish cedar lining. 
The interior includes a built-in humidifier, and the piece features a hinged lid with a working lock and key. 
Included in the set are two original Dunhill cigar cutters...

A fine, early and very unusual Palais Royal Cupid and Harp musical box with two-air cylinder movement. The finely modelled cupid sits upon an Empire stool and plays a classical 16 s...

Wood Casket and matching Cubic Pewter Candlestick Holder made by Just Andersen in the 1950s. An elegant duo for a beautiful place. * A lidded box in wood with pewter top and matchin...

Hallmarked in London in 1821 by Christopher John Buckler, this handsome, Antique Sterling Silver Snuff Box, is gilt, and features a cast "Topers" scene on the lid of three gentlemen ...

Michel Dumas Creations designed this sophisticated modernist Lucite and chrome box for Roche Bobois in France. Crafted circa 1970, this stunning, rare decorative piece features a rec...

Beautiful and rare, this superb silver-mounted cut glass box was crafted by the legendary Russian firm Fabergé. The rounded cut glass box features a diamond pattern, while the hinged...

Design Modern and valuable skin come together in this box in the shape of pannier, ideal for guard playing cards, cigarettes, or again, small jewelry. Part of the exclusive ...

Centerplace, WMF, German WMF (Wurttembergische Metallwarenfabrik) Electro- Wurtemberg Plate Company in Geislingen, Germany, internationally known today as 'WMF' initials of the...

Tiffany Studios New York Bronze Greek key Trinket / cigar box ,,, cedar lined,, Wonderful little decorative item,, Amazing finish , patina, Signed but very difficult to read,,

Superb old African box with hand-carving & carrying chain on the top. Carved on all sides. Authentic ceremonial divided box with hand wrought iron hinges l...

Maison Lancel Paris designed this stunning lidded box. The piece was crafted in France circa 1980. The minimalist rectangular shape has a sleek design with polished chromed metal com...

A Portuguese or Cuban silver mounted mahogany knife box from the 18th century. Box with a worn painted inscription to the backside dated 1786.

This stunning Mid-Century-Modern lidded box was crafted in France circa 1960. The square shape boasts a wood container base with a gorgeous natural wood color. The enamel-on-copper l...

1960's Heavy Weight Rivetted Belgian Grain Bin. These grain bins are a staple functional item from farms throughout Belgium, used to hold grain feed for live stock. These bins are ...

Elegant patinated bronze vase. Called 'Kungavasen' (The Kings Vase). Art deco / Swedish Grace. Made by Ystad Metall / Brons, Sweden, 1930s. Good condition. Some wear to the patina...

Tobacco container by Aldo Tura, Italy 1940s in goatskin, brass and wood. The container has two compartments, one for storing tobacco and another for storing and lighting the games. D...

This antique Victorian opaline glass jewelry casket is a true testament to the opulence and elegance of the era. The pièce de résistance is undoubtedly its exquisite floral enamel p...