Indian Boxes

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...

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...

1920s Anglo-Raj Hand-Painted Rajasthani Dowry Box A striking early 20th-century Anglo-Raj decorative wooden box, hand-painted and richly detailed with romantic and courtly scenes. Or...

Openwork teak box made in India at the end of the 19th century. The interior is lined with velvet. Over the course of its long history, this box has sometimes been glued back togethe...

Beautiful handcrafted antique tinned copper decorative octagonal betel box with with lid, handle and brass latch. The metal is delicately and int...

Contemporary Indian lidded bone box with etched chevron pattern design. Part of a large collection of bone boxes

1920s Hand Painted East Indian Decorative Box. An antique Rajasthani Indian hand painted wood box, early 20th century. The box is handcrafted of wood and feature a hinged lid that can be opened and closed to access the contents inside. Hand painted colorful Indian box with lid depicting human figures and flowers. Style: Anglo Raj, Paint, Wood, Hand-Crafted Place of Origin: India. Anglo Raj Vintage Wooden Box Hand Painted Indian Chest Trinket 1920s. Large Trinket Box Folk Art Hand Painted Colorful Asian Jewellery Chest...

An antique Indian wooden box from the 19th century, with brass details and weathered appearance. Topped with a rectangular lid fitted with a c-scroll handle and half opening to revea...

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

An Indo- Portuguese brass-mounted hardwood and Indian Wood marquetry cabinet, Goa. Gorgeously made with hand-cut hardwood and the finest quality of othe...

Beautiful 19th century large hand-crafted decorative round polished brass box with lid delicately and intricately hand-hammered with repousse floral...

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

Hand-carved Anglo Raj early 20th century carved wood box richly decorated overall with arabesques and floral carving. Hinged lid shallow relief carving with interior lined with red r...

A large brass pandan box North India, 19th century The body with rounded profile and hinged raised lid with engraved and punched decoration centering ...

An exceptional, fine and impressive antique Indian sterling silver cedar lined box; an addition to the ornamental silverware collection This exceptional antique sterling silver box ...

Asian antique Beaten Brass Betel Nut Pandan Box, Northern India. Beautiful antique hand hammered Asian round brass betel with a lid and delicate engravings with floral design handle hand crafted by skilled artisans from Northern India. Indian Beaten Copper Betel Nut Pandan Box with hand hammered beaten floral and incised decoration used to store betel leaf, lime, tobacco and the nut from the areca palm. This mixture of ingredients when prepared and placed in the mouth for long periods gives the user a mild aphrodisiac effect. The preparation of the betel nut with lime stored in ornate boxes with several smaller internal containers was popular all over Asia and is still a common practice in Myanmar and India and among the hill tribes of many S. E. Asian countries. Engraved with intricate designs on the lid which has a carved floral design handle and a latch in front for opening or closing the box and for safekeeping. Nicely hand-hammered with intricate details. Please check photo #5, there is about 1 inch damage area on the side of the box. Museum quality Asian Hand-hammered decorative Islamic brass folk art metalwork collector treasure box. Measures: Diameter 7 in. x Height 4 in. The box has a rich, deep brown patina. Quality of Mughal style. A pandan was used to store the pan, or betel quid after it had been stuffed and rolled ready to eat, rather than for the individual ingredients. The chewing of betel is an ancient Asian tradition comparable to tobacco in the western world. Betel consists of three main ingredients: the areca nut, betel leaf and lime paste. Betel was, and still is enormously popular throughout Asia and plays a major role in the entertaining of guests, in courtship and marriage, and in the traditional etiquette of the royal courts, where it often forms part of the state regalia.[1] Research on several pandan boxes has been published by Zebrowski.[2] Brownrigg, H. Betel Cutters...

An exquisite Indian Koftgari work box, or jewelry box, circa 1900, in oval shape. Featuring very fine, gold thread decoration with three silvered bun feet and a silvered base. The li...

Large Asian decorative wooden jewelry box with brass overlay. Large ethnic Indian hand painted decorative jewelry wood box with brass metal hammere...

This silver trinket or jewelry box dates to the late 19th century and is presumed have been made in India. The silver tests to between .850 and 900 and as such, is slightly below .92...

Decorative jewelry box in tessellated exotic tigers eye with velvet interior.

A lovely dome shaped bone box from India. The box can be decorative or hold anything from rubber bands to 420. A compliment to cocktail tables, shelves, bedside or on an end table ...

An Exquisite and Large Indian 22K Gold, Enamel, and Diamond Snuff Box, Jaipur A very fine quality 22k gold box set with 40 diamonds, painted with the fi...

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 ...

Anglo-Indian inlaid box with elephant motif (circa 1920s). Dimensions: 14"H x 19.5"W x 13"D.

Late 19th c. early 20th c. Persian Footed Wooden Round Jewelry Box. Antique rare in round shape large Persian wooden box with marquetry called "Sadeli" or "Khatam Kari" with exquisit...

A Latched Wooden Box with Brass Overlay Decorations, 20th Century Descriptions: The ebon rectangular box decorated with overlaid Arabesque brass motifs punctuated by nailhead boss...

Beautiful handcrafted tinned copper decorative octagonal betel box with lid and brass latch. The metal is delicately and intricately hand-hammered and repousse with floral and geometric designs. This Vintage brass box...

Fine Cloisonné Enamel Sterling Silver Pill Box, India, circa 1970 A finely crafted kidney-shaped sterling silver pill box, delicately enamelled throughout in vibrant shades of cobal...

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...

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 ...

Antique Anglo Indian Hindu treasure jewelry metal bronze box. 19th century Anglo Indian antique metal box handcrafted with hinged lid with a swing ...

A rustic Indian wooden document box from the 19th century with brass details, partial opening top and petite bracket feet. This rustic Indian wooden document box from the 19th centur...

Vintage handmade and hand painted John Richard beige, gold leaf and Brass tessellated Shell Bone decorative jewelry box. Features a lined with black Ultrasuede Fruit Wood Box to stor...

Inspired vintage Anglo Indian hinged box crafted in mahogany and clad in a faux tortoise laminate.

Box Duke with all structure in solid brass and stainless steel in old silver plated finish. Box with lid.

Beautiful old camel on wheels, trinket or spice box, vintage toy from the second half of the 20th century, made of solid red-colored wood, probably from India. The object has a beau...

Mounted with Silver From our Sewing Box collection, we are pleased to offer this Solid Coromandel Anglo Indian and Silver Sewing Box. The Sewing Box of...

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

19th century Anglo-Indian hand carved tropical wood box.

19th century Anglo-Indian wooden box fitted with various compartments finely hand carved. The top is finely hand carved with the Taj Mahal. The interior with removable hand carved nine-lidded compartments, the front cover has a mirror, the whole exhibiting very fine workmanship. This fine late Victorian Anglo-Indian box from India is in great condition for it age. A beautiful example of an Anglo-Indian fine art...

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 silvered metal box of an elephant in a very traditional Anglo -Indian craft, art. Has an amazing age patina in contrast with the inside, as shown.

Fabulous Indian box made of bone and pierced brass with a wood bottom.A very nice design. Turn of the century, India.

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....

Large Teak Jewelry Dowry Box with Brass, Late 19th Century, India. This Teak Indian Dowry Box is adorned with Decorative Brass, showcasing exquisite c...

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...

This is an antique Campaign correspondence box. An Anglo-Indian, teak and brass bound Colonial traveller's writing case, dating to the late Victorian period, circa 1880. Captivati...

Striking pair of tessellated bone decorative boxes having wonderful unusual shape, black ink embellishments with birds and foliage against creamy beige and white background. Lids co...

This exquisite antique box from 19th century India is a true treasure with its rich patina and traces of green paint. The brass studs add a real touch making it a genuine statement p...

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

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...

This exquisite Charoite Box (3.5" x 4.25") is crafted from a rare and mesmerizing purple-hued mineral found exclusively in Siberia, Russia. The swirling patterns of deep violet, lave...

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...

Beautiful hand-crafted polished brass footed box with with lid, latch and handle intricately hand-hammered with geometric designs and pierced with holes. Vintage pierced decorative Mughal Indian style brass box from India...

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

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...

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...

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...