17th Century Boxes

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

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 ...

17th Century Italian Ebonized Inlaid Milanese Table Cabinet. Cabinet is an exceptional rectangular box-form cabinet veneered in richly toned ebony and rosewood, lavishly inlaid with ...

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

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 rare antique 17th-century Italian Baroque walnut jewelry or strong box, circa 1600. The box made from solid walnut, the substantial box having a locking hinged lid with hand-forge...

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...

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

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...

Description: Gold snuffbox with enamels and Taj Mahal profusely in relief, perfect friezes, guilloche reverse and hinged lid. Metal: Gold Origin: French Mark: Fleur-de-Lys Weight: 13...

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...

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...

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

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...

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...

Late 17th Century box covered in leather. With decorative metal crowns the symbol of a Count in France. Circa 1680.

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...

Circular form with flattened doomed covers, the covers with a medallion of flower with full bloom, the bowls with two round borders. Period : Qing Dynasty, Kangxi-Yongzheng Period P...

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

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

Having a rectangular top with a molded edge and a line carved detail the center with a coin slot, the conforming case with steel reinforcement straps and a decorative steel escutcheo...

Description: Gold snuffbox with enameled reliefs and friezes featuring garlands, ribbons, and a trophy, in a trapezoidal shape with a hinged lid. Metal: Gold Origin: Switzerland Bran...

A dwarf cassone with hinged top with chip carved edge over a paneled case with central keyhole, arcaded carved base.

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 ...

Early 18th / late 17th-century chest / strongbox. Possibly VOC. Chests of this type were mainly used for the safe storage and transport of valuables. This example appears to be Dut...

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...

Description: Oval-shaped gold snuffbox with floral inlays in tortoiseshell, enameled friezes, garlands, and a reverse side with profusely defined engravings. Metal: Gold Origin: Fren...

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...

Description: Gold snuffbox with embossed mythical figures with cornucopias surrounding a cameo-shaped bust of a monarch, and a laureate reverse surrounding a monogram cartouche. Meta...

Bible box hand-crafted in Italy in the mid 1600s using walnut. The box is still in fantastic shape and has a gorgeous patina. On three sides it is decorated with beautiful hand-carve...

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 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 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...

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...

Description: Gold snuffbox with enamel garlands surrounding a depicted young woman figure, profusely defined fleur-de-lis, plumes, and asymmetrical engravings on the reverse. Metal: ...

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

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...

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...

An exceptional, fine and impressive antique German silver gilt tobacco box; an addition to our 17th century silverware collection. This exceptional antique 17th century German silver...

Hinged top, decorated overall with incised carving, lock plate and side handles.

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...

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...

A handsome Continental rectangular iron-bound bullion (or strong) box or coffer chest of patinated walnut from the Renaissance 17th century, featuring a paneled exterior with decorat...

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...

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...

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

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...

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

Small rectangular ark with a flat lid, with a lock of golden metal worked (crown on two facing lions, located on a garland of great size, and all around a symmetrical composition wit...

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...

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...

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 17th century Malines alabaster and ebonised wood coffer or casket with engraved inset panels, arches and columns. The interior has a marbled paper lini...

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

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 ...

Turned, engraved and openwork box Fruit wood Florence, 17th century Measures: Diameter 11cm Height 4.4cm.