Asian Boxes

Vintage hand painted and gold gilded papier-mâché box with removeable lid - featuring three gilded lotus flowers to the lid and an intricate double band of decoration to the edge - u...

This fabulous estate find is an old Turkish shoe shine kit that came from Istanbul. It is made of sturdy wood and brass with beautiful repousse Iznik in...

Antique Chinese Opium Box in Cloisonné Enamel, decorated with Floral Motifs and Interior Scenes French Private Collection

A very nice Chinese red lacquer box decorated in gold and black with a garden scene. Box has a black interior. Circa mid 1800s.

An Indian antique box from the 19th century with metal sheathing and bracketed base. Created in India during the 19th century, this antique box features a linear silhouette made of m...

Nice Japanese glove box in red and black lacquered wood dating from the end of the 19th century. It is decorated with delicate gold, black and white flowers and foliage on all its vi...

Russian silver clutch or evening purse. This has repousse horse heads with outstanding detail in the left corner. The clutch is .875 fine silver. There is a glass cabochon for the cl...

Japan, Edo to Meiji period, two-tiered, with the cover with a landscape design, the four sides with guilt chrysanthemum flowers.

Nice and unusual Indian Mughal style large decorative box, filigree and carved horn. Anglo-Indian footed domed box with exceptional engraved details throughout with filigree and carved veneered bone plaques with arabesque carving. Vizagapatam, late 19th century. History of the Anglo-Indian Boxes Beginning in the early part of the 18th century, Indian artisans made what came to be known as Anglo-Indian boxes for the English residents living in India, who eventually brought or sent them back to England. At the beginning of the 19th century, India began exporting these boxes commercially, although not in any significant numbers until the 1850s. People valued them so highly that manufacturers of tins copied the designs on them in the late 19th and early 20th century. Anglo-Indian boxes fall into four groups: Rosewood or ebony boxes inlaid; sandalwood boxes veneered; sandalwood boxes covered with Sadeli mosaic; and carved boxes often combined with Sadeli mosaic/ The first two categories came from Vizagapatam in East India while the last two came from Bombay in West India. English traders discovered the rich woods and intricate workmanship of Indian artisans, so colonial government officials began to recognize the work of the Indian artists and craftsmen as a source for satisfying the need for furniture and boxes, which would both serve to enhance English households in India. This gave rise to the cabinetmaking workshops in Vizagapatam between Calcutta and Madras. Craftsmen made the first boxes to be decorated with Sadeli mosaic of rosewood or ebony, incised to give further definition to the decoration, directly inlaid into the wood. The shape of the early boxes was either sloping at the front with a flatter section at the back, reminiscent of English writing slopes, or rectangular. Artisans inlaid the borders with stylized floral scrolls and the centers with a single floral motif following a circular or oval symmetrical or asymmetrical pattern. The edging was ornamental and protective, both helped protect the end grain against the weather. Made in Vizagapatam, situated on the south east coast of India, near Madras These exotic boxes...

A beautifully crafted vintage marble box from India, dating to the 1940s–1950s. The surface is intricately inlaid with agate and other precious stones, forming an elegant floral patt...

A fine lacquered and gold leaf Nagamochi dating from the late 18th century or early 19th century. The exterior of the trunk and its gilded metal fittings are decorated with a folia...

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...

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 skilled artisans, ultimately making each piece unique, designed in Paris and produced in the Philippines. As an ode to vintage steamer trunks...

Antique black lacquer container with painted floral motifs used to store hats and personal belongings.

An antique Japanese copper footed rectangular double-bottom box with hinged lid. Late Meiji period, The piece is decorated with cloisonne enamel depictions of dragons, phoenix bird, flowers against the swirl motif background. Collectible Oriental Vanity...

Blackbuck Round Trinket Box in Brass & Semi Precious Stone, Viya by Vikram Goyal In "The Book of Dreams”, the 17th century Indian manuscript, a glim...

Formed around a simple wooden frame, this papier-mâché storage box is a charming example of Chinese folk art. Crafted with old newspapers and dyed rice paper, the box would have been...

Vintage Chinese jewelry box features solid wood body with finger joint corners, carved inlay on the lid, and brass applique decor on the corners and around the inlay. The box is equi...

Tessellated horn jewelry box by Maitland-Smith.

A very attractive vintage inlaid rosewood Indian jewelry box. The hinged box made is from solid figured rosewood and finely and is sumptuously inla...

A pyramid shaped box having 4 graduating drawers with brass ball knobs . Made of polished pen shell which is a material that the manufacturer Maitland Smith often used. All sitting u...

This jewelry box by R&Y Augousti is a luxurious fusion of artistry and craftsmanship, wrapped in sophisticated shagreen. The meticulously handcrafted Cosmos pattern blends mother-of-...

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 ...

This sleek set of 3 Desk Boxes by R&Y Augousti exemplifies the perfect balance between modern elegance and timeless luxury. Crafted in white shagreen with a curved top, each box is e...

Very pretty 1920s Persian brass jewelry box in neo-Mamluk Moorish style. This lovely box is an antique Mamluke Damascene style Islamic brass jewelry box from the Middle East, circa 1...

Antique A Chinese Carved Gilt Lacquered Box depicting a Dragon and Phoenix, and all areas of carved patterns throughout. small lacquer colors were lost at the corner, please see the ...

A rare Japanese bark tree large cloisonné box on metal from the Meiji period. Usually bark tree cloisonné was on porcelain (totai Shippo) A very attracti...

19th Century Hoshiarpur Inlaid Writing Box Quite simply, this is a stunning example of a 19th Century hand crafted Hoshiarpur inlaid writing box. The craftsmanship is quite amazing ...

This three-tiered container is a 19th-century white brass incense clock, once used as a relatively accurate method to mark the passage of time. Incense c...

Antique Chinese 9-sided lead & bronze tea caddy with 18 hand-painted panels (behind glass) with ornate frames. Raised seal mark on base. The tea caddy with a removable domed lid and ...

A sculptural box with a radiant green straw marquetry lid and gold foil body. A bold piece that brings celestial charm to your space. The finishes, colours, size can be customised ac...

An exceptional, fine and impressive antique Russian silver box; an addition to our Russian silverware collection This exceptional antique Russian silver spice box...

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...

Anglo Indian carved mahogany cat with ebonized stripes and a curious expression, featuring a secret compartment on the bottom.

Saffron Tissue Box White Large in Lacquer Wood & Brass, Viya By Vikram Goyal With moniker’s such as red gold, exquisite thread or golden light, saffron captivates us all. Ancient Ro...

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 skilled artisans, ultimately making each piece unique, designed in Paris and produced in the Philippines. The set of 4 pedestal boxes are the perfect home accents to add elegance and functionality to your space. These can be used as a vanity set for your bathroom, in your office to store desk...

This set of 3 round boxes in black shagreen by R&Y Augousti showcases a design that seamlessly marries form and function. Each box features a perfectly symmetrical circular shape, ex...

A scarce fine quality antique silver-inlaid solid brass betel nut box (Lutuan), dating to the second half of the 19th / early 20th century, hand-crafted in Mindanao, Philippines. Boxes such as this were used to store the areca nut (also known as the betel nut) which would be wrapped in a betel leaf with lime paste and other ingredients, often tobacco, for chewing. Similar to the European tea caddy, these boxes often served as a way to impress while showing off ones wealth. Betel chewing was prevalent in the southern Philippines as in much of the rest of Southeast Asia. Wealthier Maranao families on Mindanao were able to afford elaborate silver-inlaid brass betel boxes such as this example. Such boxes were used to show off to guests and from which they were offered betel and the other component such as leaves and lime to make up the betel quid. Rare large size, most extant examples of such boxes tend to measure around 5 inches in length. At slightly more than 7.75 inches the example here is larger than most. The distinctive decorative box features a very heavy strong-box like rectangular shaped chest form with canted corners, copper handles, and a conforming hinged lid, lifting open to reveal an interior divided into three compartments covered by four hinged lids. Each of these doors is inlaid with silver in stylized orchid flower patterns. Exceptionally executed throughout, the arabesque silver inlaid exterior is decorated to the top with a large orchid motif within scrolling obid-obid (stylized rope) borders. The front, back and sides are inlaid with sets of stylized tail feathers of the sari-manok bird beneath which are unusual, highly stylized whimsical zoomorphic faces that appear like cat or tiger faces. (Such stylisation is accounted for by Southeast Asian Islamic preferences to avoid the overt and this potentially idolatrous representation of animal and human forms. Designs such as these are drawn from a local design repertoire that has its origins in wood carving. Although the spread of Islam in the Philippines began in the 14th century, mostly through the influence of Muslim merchants from the western Malay Archipelago, decorative arts in this design remain exceptionally rare. This lutuan represents a fine example of Islamic metalwork from the most eastern outreach of Islamic art and civilisation: Mindanao island being significantly further east than even China – artwork from Islamic Southeast Asia remains chronically under-represented in the world’s major collections of Islamic art. PROVENANCE / ACQUISITION Acquired from highly reputable auction house, Austin Auction Gallery, established 1983, Austin, Texas. References Brownrigg, H., Betel Cutters...

A finely crafted Russian hand-painted lacquer box, likely depicting a scene from Swan Lake. Rendered in the traditional Palekh style, the composition features graceful dancers, court...

This is a remarkable 19th century lacquered sewing box with multiple compartments on the interior. The exterior is decorated in elaborate black and gilded motifs including flowers, f...

Kyohei Fujita exquisite molded hexagonal Liuli blown glass box with gold and silver leaf inclusions, Japan, 1995. Etched signature 'Kyohei Fujita' to underside. Literature: Fin Lyn...

Sturdy rectangular hinged trinket box for display or functional for jewelry. Wonderful piece to add to existing collection. Marked on the bottom, China

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...

Beautiful handcrafted decorative round tinned copper Mughal Indian box with lid, latch and handle. Antique South Asian Mughal Round Tinned Copper Box with L...

Ghau is a small prayer box worn as pendant by Buddhists as portable shrines which can be pray by prayer during their travel. This Ghau prayer box (travel Buddha...

Art Deco style granite decorative jewelry box with intricate silver leaf details and velvet interior. Inside measurements are 10.75" x 6.25" deep and 3.5" deep.

This is a Chinese jewelry box that is made out of rosewood with beautiful Chinoiserie brass trim. It is a nice heavy box that measures 12”W x 8”L x 6”H. The top layer inside holds 5 ...

Vintage walnut box, trinket box, keepsake made in Japan for F.B. Rogers Silver Company, circa 1970. Made out of Silver Plate and Gold Plate Steel an...

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...

A rare and exceptional finely painted vintage Imperial Russian lacquerware box. Exquisitely hand-crafted in the Palekhsky District (Палех) of wes...

This is a beautiful papier mâché, circular lacquered St of Cups, which we attribute to being made in Japan during the early 20th century, circa 1910. This is a very decorativeset ...

The "Melting Box" by R&Y Augousti, crafted in polished stainless steel and adorned with intricate mother of pearl, is a striking piece that balances modern sophistication with artisa...

Sagejubako is a portable picnic set that became popular in the early Edo period when an additional meal was added between breakfast and dinner. It normally consists of a carry case w...

This silver, gold and niello inlaid topographical snuffbox is a masterpiece of Russian silver. Almost owned by a wealthy 19th-century tradesman, this extraordinary creation shares a ...

Presenting an astonishing Japanese Antique Carved Bone bamboo-form snuff bottle, museum quality. Dimension: 2.5" H x 1 " Dia. Condition: Excellent Condition

A fine and elegant Korean black lacquer and abalone mother of pearl inlay "longevity" box, circa 1930s, Korea. The box, most likely used to sto...

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...

Anglo-Indian penwork decorated veneered sandalwood glove box on turned ball feet the sides and top decorated with scrolling leaf borders and the top with a central leaf-framed cartou...

Charming petite antique Anglo Indian lidded box handcrafted in indigenous hardwoods clad in tortoise shell and decorated with elaborate lacy bone designs, featuring an etched and pai...

Vintage cloisonné round trinket box, with black and gold flower and foliage decorating the lid. Made in India sticker on bottom.