Folk Art Snuff Boxes and Tobacco Boxes

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

Large Majolica Palissy tobacco jar attributed to Thomas Sergent, circa 1880 unsigned. Naturalistic movement of the end of 19th century. The jar have the shape of a trunk with a bir...

The elaborately carved snuff box with a scene of two mermaids on the cover and deeply carved shell on the reverse.

A well-executed example of American tramp art, this lidded box features all-over chip carving in the layered notch technique characteristic of the form. The stepped pyramid base adds...

Probably Irish given the carved shamrock, with hinged top and robust leaf like carving. A small chip to bottom of toe and two small holes on the bottom likely from former mounting.

Antique American Folk Art Tramp Art Carved Box, probably Late 19th/Early 20th Century. A decorative box ornamented with layers of classic Tramp Art chip carved borders enclosing velvet ground panels centered by elongated star...

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...

19th century English dresser box made from exquisitely grained rosewood. The box has wonderfully inlaid patterns on the top and front in...

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...

19th century American folk art box with decorated with inlaid hearts, diamonds, triangles and shields. Possibly sailor made, this sweet little box was likely a valentine or keepsake ...

19th century French silver snuff box Late 19th century silver snuffbox with engraved centre and gilt interior Hall marked by the Silversmith, Dubois Leon & Bauve Henri The Dutch...

Beautiful old tramp art box, jewelry box or trinket, trinket box, made in the first half of the 20th century, Belgium. Beautiful form of folk art, anyone could make a tramp art obje...