17th Century Boxes

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....

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...

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...

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...

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...

A William and Mary Kingwood/Princes oyster strongbox or Coffre Fort, circa 1680-1700, England. Adorned with highly decorative gilt brass strapwork and decorated in knife-cut oysters ...

Rare late 17th century Dutch colonial, probably Sri Lankan, Macassar ebony document box having deeply molded raised panel lid, original ri...

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 Rare and Important 17th Century Miniature Japanese Lacquer Cabinet, 19 cm H, 17cm W, 16.5cm D. The exquisitely decorated cabinet depicts fine floral raised scenes to each side. l...

A fine and rare 17th-century William and Mary olive oyster floral marquetry lace box, circa 1685. England The cross grain olive moulded and holly banded top is centred by an oval of...

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...

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 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 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.

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...

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...

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...

Antique Italian ballot urn shaped wooden box, carved and painted, coming from Tuscany, Monte San Savino near Arezzo in Central Italy. This ballot urn is an excellent example of a 17th century wooden voting box...

1890s W & T Avery Gold Weighing Scales in Box, English. Set of gold weighing scales in original box by W & T Avery, Birmingham, England (label intact inside lid). Each pan marked: "W...

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...

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...

Sea captain's box with iron fittings 1680/1720 colonial.

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

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...

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...

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

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...

COUNTER CASH 17th Century Flemish in walnut wood with inlays, consisting of two drawers and a drawer. Signs of use. Dim.: 31.5 x 44 x 27 cm good state

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...

Wonderful messenger box from the Louis XIV period, late 17th early 18th century. This pretty box is made of leather-wrapped wood decorated with copper nails forming scrolls and flowe...

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 ...

A rare and unique church collection box from Northern Italy. Beautifully constructed from thick planks of walnut with intriguing carving detail. A wonde...

17th century Chinese porcelain blue-glazed circular pill box from the Hatcher Collection, painted in different tones of blue with a central prunus flower on a wave pattern ground tha...

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

A strongbox was a type of travelling chest and these types of boxes were more common in England than anywhere else where they were fabricated between 1660 and 1720. The earliest proo...

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

An exceptional 17th century Marriage Trunk - Malle - from the Provence region of France. Soundly constructed from wood and clad in leather. Beautifully ...

An exceptional, fine and rare antique Charles II English silver counter box; an addition to our 17th century collection. This exceptional and rare antique Charles II silver counter ...

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 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...

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...

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...

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...

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

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...

This charming and unusual casket injects a romantic atmosphere into any interior. It has survived in impeccable condition with acceptable wear to the painted surface which signifies its age and use. It is a conversation piece, a piece of acting history, bought by Vivien Leigh and Laurence Olivier...

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...

Rare and precious Venetian domed case made of richly lacquered and gilded wood, early 17th century, depicting "The Conquests of Venice." Caskets like this one are more unique than ...

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...

Box ‘Cheveux de Vénus moulded pressed white glass with original sienna patina Model by René Lalique created in 1910. Signature engraved on the wheel. Height : 6 cm diameter : 6,...

A fine late 17th-century olive oyster 'Lace Box' of small proportions, circa 1680-1690, England. The cross-grain moulded and holly banded top is finely veneered in hand-cut veneers ...

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...

Spanish Colonial inlaid bone and faux tortoiseshell domed top box. Original hammered iron hinges. Circa 1680-1740. Excellent condition and very rare.

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

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 ...

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

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...