Unique & Stunning 1800s Bronze & Brass Betel Nut Box Museum Quality & Condition

Stunning and all handcrafted antique box. The ideal gift for a lady with an eye for quality, because this stunning box is truly fabulous and it will look great, no matter where you decide to have it on display. This can only be the work of a master carftsman, because the choice of materials and colors and also the design of the patterns is right up there with the best we have ever seen. You can use this object of virtue...

Beautiful and rare Gothic Revival treasure box with bronze handle. If you are a collector of antique boxes and/or if you are looking for an extraordinary jewelry box to grace your credenza or side table then this unique and top quality made specimen in the Gothic style could be perfect. Gothic Revival boxes are very hard to find and we have never seen one with such prodigious carvings on all sides. The unique and cat-like dragon gargoyles (with fangs) that look like they are carrying this casket, are just some of the stunningly carved and detailed sculptures that make this antique rarity even more artistic and impressive. Another great feature are the peacock sculptures. In Christianity the peacock is the symbol of purity. Christians believe that once someone has passed their soul rises and goes to heaven. This is why in earlier times Christians would spread the feathers of a peacock over the deceased since it symbolized a pure soul that was immune to corruption. The peacock also represents immortality, resurrection, and the spiritual teachings of Jesus Christ and the Christian church. Have you also noticed the top quality details on both ends of the bronze handle on top? The quality of that ornamental work is of the absolute highest standard also. There are many more incredibly beautiful, hand carved details and together they show that no expense was spared to create one of the most amazing Gothic caskets...

Large, masterly hand-crafted and amazing condition wooden antique coach cigar holder. If you are a collector of truly unique antiques in general and of cigar or carriage related pieces in particular then this one of a kind centerpiece could be flying your way soon. Over the years we have sold a few antique novelty cigar holders, but never one of this size and never in the form of a carriage. Back in the day when this type of carriages were the means of transportation for only the wealthiest of western societies, smoking cigars certainly was a manly thing to do and very much 'en vogue'. Smoking cigars also proved that you had made it in this world. For all those reasons, this hand-crafted carriage cigar holder has always been and always will be a statement piece. We, as antique enthousiast, first and foremost fell in love with the workmanship and with the honest and timeless way in which this carriage was hand-crafted. We also love how perfectly balanced and realistic it is and for us to have been given the opportunity to buy yet another unique antique and in such amazing condition again felt like a blessing. The former owner, in our view, had gone a little overboard in trying to be the best custodian, because he kept this unique antique in an aquarium-like glass dome. He certainly succeeded, because this carriage cigar holder is in THE best possible condition. The quality in the details and the overal balance of this coach mixed with the warm patina of the antique wood is what makes this aesthetically pleasing antique a real gem to own and to look at. We believe this work of antique craftsmanship is of museum quality and condition and no matter where you decide to have it on display, this work of art will never fail to impress. In all honesty who would not be impressed (and amused) when being offered a cigar that is in the door of a large, handcrafted, 19th century model carriage...

Large and truly stunning, antique oak desk or table piece. If you are a collector of the most stylish and best condition antiques only then this fine-art-museum-worthy, amazing cond...

Stunning little Arts & Crafts box. This undoubtedly is one of the best handcrafted Arts & Crafts boxes we ever had the pleasure of offering. The design is to die for and the artist ...

Museum quality and marked Erhard & Sons, Arts and Crafts box. In almost all countries on the globe there are -for good reasons- collectors of the boxes that were handcrafted by Germ...

This ornate Indian betel nut box dates back to the early 20th century. Known in India as a paan daan, this box was used in the ritual of chewing betel nut or paan, a practice that da...

Antique Philippine Brass and Copper Betel Nut Box. The top lifts to reveal 2 hinged compartments that held the betel leaf and areca nut. Inlaid in c...

A betel nut box. Hill Tribe Betel Nut Box, from the Hill Tribes that live amongst Thailand and Loa borders in the mountain hills. Hand made of hard wood ...

Southern Philippine (Mindanao) brass with silver inlay betel box. The top lifts to reveal 4 hinged compartments that held the betel leaf, areca nut, slacked lime and chewing condimen...

Antique Philippine Brass and Copper inlaid Betel Nut Box. The top lifts to reveal 2 hinged compartments that held the betel leaf, areca nut. Top is ...

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...