Indonesian Boxes

Wonderful midcentury chrome glass and briarwood pocket emptier. This fantastic piece was designed in Christian Dior Style during the 1980s. The...

Antique handcrafted Moroccan jewelry wooden box with camel bone inlay trunk. A large early 20th century decorative Moroccan camel bone casket with bra...

"Pair of Lacquered wood boxes, China, 20th century" 6 cups each inside, perfect condition. Contact us before ordering to confirm product availability.

A pair of Japanese lacquer lidded Hokai boxes with chased brass hardware and original ropes. Hokai boxes are traditionally used in Japan to store and carry s...

A painted 19th Century Scandinavian Folk Art wood box, with blue and red. These boxes were used for multiple purposes, eg to transport during long trips important documents and priva...

Impressive hand-painted Folk Art box from the Mid-18th Century. The box has been hand-painted in rusts, reds and greens with roses and flowers. Original paint and metal hardware. Won...

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...

Charming American Toleware Tin Box. Box is hand-painted in vivid folk art floral motifs of red, gold, and green against a deep black background. The domed lid features an oval black tin handle, and the front of lid retains the front portion of its original latch. This example displays the warmth and character typical of the 19th century decorative tinware, where utilitarian household objects were elevated through hand-painted embellishment. The floral and foliate designs were often inspired by Pennsylvania German or New England folk art traditions. Artisans and tin peddlers offered these brightly adorned boxes, trays, etc to rural families. Each was uniquely decorated, often by women, to reflect floral motifs in domestic interiors of the Federal and Victorian periods. In today's interiors, this toleware box...

This charming 20th century Belgian carved wooden box showcases traditional craftsmanship and decorative floral detailing. Hand-carved from solid wood, the rectangular form is embelli...

Beautiful and Minimalist trinket box. This rare beauty is a unique trinket box or decorative box that brings minimal shape with organic beauty. Constructed of Thuya wood that has bee...

This box is a real treasure! Completely had carved from walnut the detail in the flowers and leaves is quite remarkable. This box required a real master craftsman to achieve the outs...

Pair of mid-20th century wood jewelry boxes with carved soapstone dragonflies, Vietnam By: unknown Material: soapstone, stone, wood Technique: carved, hand-carved, hand-crafted Dime...