17th Century Boxes

The iron coffer, fully original in every part of it, was forged and handcrafted in German in the 1610. Complete with key. Full working iron mechanisms. It ...

A good antique English, Charles II (Carolean) period carved oak bible or document box, circa 1680. Such boxes were particularly popular in the 17th century, when printed bibles were very expensive and a treasured family possession. The bible was most likely the only book owned by a family and was also the means of recording births, deaths & marriages which would be written on the flyleaf or endpapers. They were also used to protect other important documents and valuables and were brought to colonial America by early settlers. This bible box dates shortly after the English Civil War & the brief time that England was a Republic (known then as the Commonwealth) under Oliver Cromwell. The box typifies those Puritan values, simple six plank construction with a hinged lid enclosing a storage area for a bible or important documents. The front of the box having a carved foliate twin lunette design with a hand cut steel lock & hasp above, the box is robust & solid & for it's 350 or so years it is in very good condition! This very early antique carved bible box...

In 15th and 16th century Europe, the works of blacksmiths from southern Germany were known far and wide. Demand for products by these skilled metal workers spread as far as the Scandinavian countries. Perhaps one of the most intriguing items that was produced by these workshops was the iron money...

This antique Buddhist shrine box was crafted in the Edo Period (1603-1868). Known in Japan as a “Zushi,” it served as a small sanctuary to enshrine Buddhist figures, scriptures, or ...

A stunning 17th century Italian leather covered wood trunk covered in brass nail heads, some spelling out a word on top, and with iron strap hinges a...

Exquisite 17th century Spanish Colonial tortoiseshell box, beautifully decorated with intricate silver piqué inlay in a repeating design across the surface. The craftsmanship is exce...

An outstanding 17th century and later simulated tortoiseshell, gilt decorated, and iron bound strong box. With Chinoiserie decoration, the hinged top enclosing void interior with iro...

Extremely old box that is covered with leather and metal decorations. Rare find. France, circa 1600-1700 Weathered and some losses.

With a domed hinged lid and bail handle over a conforming case decorated overall with figures in Renaissance dress. Bun feet. Provenance; David and P...

Rare William and Mary walnut glove box on later stand - exceptional quality with aged patina - featuring elaborate walnut oyster veneered top and walnut veneered sides - the interior of the box lined with hand quilted floral silk Lampas fabric...

This superb Indian spice box is of a larger scale than normally seen. It is highly decorative and original. It is made from a solid block of dense woo...

A fine example of a diminutive burled walnut vargueno, collector or valuables cabinet, with molded cornice and drop front, opening to a multi-drawer ...

17th Century English Jacobean Carved Oak Bible Box. Period Jacobean solid dark oak bible box from the 17th century. The front is beautifully carved wi...

An exceptionally rare early 17th century, James I/Charles I, black Japanned jewel box decorated with gold and red flowers and foliage. With a domed lid, o...

A Chinese Huanghuali document box with original brass mounts. Features a rectangular lid with ornate cut-out brass corners, brass bound down a...

Magnificent Louis XIV period messenger box, late 17th early 18th century. This pretty box is made of leather-covered wood decorated with copper nails on the front and top of the box....

An Extremely Rare Charles II Confit Box Made, Most Probably, in London circa 1670, Maker's Mark of M With a Crown Above This very rare piece is circular in form and plain in design ...

A wonderful Japanese lacquer incense box, kogo, with a design of plovers in flight, late Momoyama or early Edo Period, circa 1600, Japan. The small box, called a kogo, was used to s...

A fine example of a money chest or cash box with steel engraved figures on each side and an intricate locking mechanism under the lid, typical of metalwork coming out of a host of ci...

Rare and valuable ebony-plated domed case with rich gilt bronze decoration and central jasper medallion. Italian Renaissance manufacture from the early 17th century. The production...

Magnificent antique hand-carved wooden chest, decorated with intricate geometric motifs and inlays in light tones that contrast with the dark background. The design features stars, d...

17th century leather knife box converted to a letter box with original brass hardware, sitting on brass ball feet. Fitted interior lined with 18th century silk fabric. In very good...

Early Japanese Lacquer Incense Box (Kogo) Late 17thc. Of rectangular form with soft corners, decorated with a diaper pattern in gold lacquer on a brownish black ground, with pewter r...

A very charming late 17th century French Coffre - Box crafted from beautifully patina'd leather. A wonderful piece to serve as a jewelry box or to adorn any table top.

Magnificent Louis XIV period messenger box, late 17th and early 18th centuries. This pretty box is made of leather-covered wood decorated with copper nails forming diamonds on the to...

A very fine and interesting late 17th century English work box or travelling case English Circa 1680 Of conventional form with slightly domed lid, this piece has acquired a magnifi...

A fine and extremely rare figured walnut and seaweed marquetry 'lace box', circa.... let’s break it down - Seaweed marquetry first appeared in Englis...

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

Yellow lacca povera box. Late 17th century chest with early 19th century lacca povera decalcomania decorations with angels, birds, lions, flowers, and trees; with original hardware a...

An old Japanese lacquered small box likely used to contain incense powder called Kobako, circa Momoyama to early Edo period (16-17th century). The rectangular form box with a fitted ...

A 17th century cutlery box with the original leather, metal hardware and interior.

C1680 oak bible box well carved on 3 sides good colour and patination 58cms Wide x 45cms Deep  x 24cms High

A splendid Dutch-colonial Sinhalese ebony two-door cabinet with silver mounts Sri Lanka, Kandy, 2nd half 17th century, the mounts later The cabinet with a central drawer with hidde...

RARE IBERIAN SAFE from the first half of the 17th Century in painted and gilded carved wood decorated with plant motifs. Small defects. Dim.: 34 x 43 x 35 cm

A charming 17th century ebony and kingwood cabinet with turned columns to the corners, the fall front opens to reveal a set of drawers and arched mirrored centre. The lid also housin...

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...

Silver mustard pot / Antique sterling sliver seasoning pot Antique sterling silver mustard / glass lined seasoning pot 1919 Beautifully crafted ant...

Important and Rare Italian box safe from the 17th century In chiseled bronze, decorated with jasper plates and hard stones, with a cameo with a male figure at the centre. Inscriptio...

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

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 oval gold snuff box is inscribed with a crest of ‘a stag trippant’ within mantling of upright ostrich plumes tied with a bow, all below a ducal coronet and above a cypher of the entwined initials ‘B.A.B.’ for Anne of Buccleuch. English, circa 1670. Provenance: Anne, 1st Duchess of Buccleuch Anne Scott, 1st Duchess of Buccleuch (1651-1732) was a wealthy Scottish peeress. After her father died when she was a few months old, and her sisters by the time she was 10, she inherited the family’s titles. She was married, at 12 years old, to James, 1st Duke of Monmouth, the eldest illegitimate son of Charles II, then 14. Following the king’s death in February 1685, James spearheaded an anti-Catholic revolt to depose the new king, James II, and claim the throne from his uncle. The brief Monmouth Rebellion ended in defeat and James, by then Duke of Monmouth and Buccleuch, was executed for treason. The Duchess had six children by Monmouth, and a further three by her second husband, Charles, 3rd Baron Cornwallis, whom she married in 1688. She died in 1732 and was succeeded by her grandson, Francis, Earl of Dalkeith. The style of chasing used on this box is very reminiscent of a signed piece in the Gilbert...

Wooden box lined with leather engraved with damask motifs, studded with convex bronze nails. This casket was used by placing it on the altars of the family chapels to house the candl...

A museum-grade mid-17th century Dutch silver marriage casket or knottekistje, circa 1660. Raised on solid silver bun feet the miniature casket is profusely engraved to all faces depicting a courting couple and architecture entwined in scrolling foliage. The reverse of the casket depicts the last supper, however, if you look closely, you can see a boy stealing food or wine from underneath! Possibly, this is the courting gentleman showing that he had a sense of humour. The scratch lined moulded top is surmounted with an intricate handle (once gilt) and floral patera to the centre. There are two inscriptions each within a cartouche 'In Lÿfde Beltact het al' and 'Getrouw tot in den doot' which loosely translates to 'faithful until the death' and 'love is everything'. Wedding caskets...

This Antique Charles II Oak Bible Box, dating from c. 1660-1685, is a remarkable piece of early English furniture, showcasing the detailed craftsmanship and design aesthetics of the ...

17th century Chinese porcelain blue and white cosmetics box from the Hatcher Collection decorated with a phoenix. The phoenix is painted with its wings outstretched, its tail flutter...

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 ...

A fine Indo-Portuguese inlaid teak wood figure of Nagini India, Goa, 17th century Measure: H. 55 cm (with stand, and with ring for wall hanging) The sculpture can be perceived as such but probably is one of four legs of an Indo-Portuguese contador...

This romantic and charming box has characteristic carving from the area. With chip-carved geometric decoration to the sliding lid and sides, carved with a horse, two hearts and a...

A Very Rare William & Mary Snuff Box Made in London circa 1690. Maker's Mark of Ah With a Crown Above and a Cinquefoil Below. The Snuff Box is of escutcheon form with plain sides an...

A unique and exceptional Japanese miniature or dollhouse export lacquered chest Kyoto, circa 1620-1640 The chest of rectangular shape with a domed lid, decorated in Transition-style, in gold hiramaki-e on a black background within reserved lobed cartouches decorated with landscapes animated with birds and rabbits, on a shagreen or samegawa background. The borders are decorated with geometric friezes, the box with gilt-copper mounts, the interior decorated in red lacquer. Measures: H 9.2 x W 14.5 x D 7.2 cm This miniature is of exceptional quality and a perfect copy of the famous large size Transition-style coffers. It was most likely ordered by a Dutch lady for her dollhouse (poppenhuis), like the famous Petronella Oortman (1656-1716) doll-house, which is now one of the highlights in the collection of the Rijksmuseum Amsterdam, or Petronella Oortmans-de la Court’s (1624-1707) dollhouse in the collection of the Centraal Museum Utrecht. Sara Rothé of Amsterdam in 1743 ordered a miniature black lacquered ivory tripod table with gold chinoiserie decoration by Jurriaan Buttner (Monika Kopplin, European Lacquer, 2010, p. 56). Other Japanned dollhouse...

A large French 16th Century Beech wood & leather chest, with iron flowerhead and domed stud work to front top and sides. Original hasp and lockplate, the interior of the box with lat...

Rare Louis XIV period messenger box, Late 17th Early 18th century, in wood sheathed in black-tinted leather with a radiant sun motif. This solar decoration is certainly a reference t...

This is an antique Japanese bento box from Edo era which was used for cherry blossom viewing party. It is made with bamboo and painted with ...

A Red-Lacquered “Armada” Wrought-Iron Money Chest with Elaborate Lock, 17th Century A striking and well-preserved example of a 17th-century “Armada” money chest, crafted in heavy wr...

A 17th century painted Armada chest with a finely engraved steel lock plate with Maidens, flowers, and a brass central boss. The outside is painted with a green background and floral...

Japanese Namban lacquer transition-style coffer with two drawers Kyoto/Nagasaki, circa 1650 The cartouches with gilt and red decorations of leaves...

A fine example of an early 17th century Italian wooden casket or box, possibly pine, with slightly vaulted lid covered with red silk and adorned with appliqued foliate velvet with em...

A fine example of an English needlework casket from the Charles II period (1660-1685), with silk work exterior panels depicting various figures and animals, a top mirrored compartmen...

Rectangular with brass strapping and side handles. Lock plate and flap. Fitted sometime in the 19th century as a tea caddy. Labeled Orange Pekoe and Black tea...

A 17th century silver mounted Coromandel wood with mother of pearl inlay traveling box with a Interior fitted with drawers and a reliquary cabinet. W...