Native American Boxes
NATIVE AMERICAN STYLE
Native American broadly describes any Indigenous people in North America and encompasses hundreds of tribes and groups, all with distinct cultures. Native American–style furniture and decor likewise varies widely, from pieces created by Indigenous people to those appropriated by non-native designers.
Indigenous furniture’s rich heritage includes the bentwood boxes of the Northwest Coast carved from cedar for storing household or ceremonial objects. Generations of Native American people have made baskets for holding household items, with those in the Northeast using sweetgrass and those in the Southeast using pine needles and wicker. Artisans in the Plateau region wove watertight pieces like cradles from plant materials. Although these objects were intricately made, they were usually utilitarian rather than decorative.
The colonization of North America and the removal of Indigenous people from their lands led to the suppression of these practices. Many styles that used Native American motifs — such as Southwestern style, which was heavily influenced by the geometric patterns of Navajo textiles — have historically not involved Indigenous creators and, instead, have taken their traditions without their tribal context.
When decorating a home with Native American–style furniture, it is important to do so respectfully, by understanding the origins of motifs and objects and examining who profits from their sale. There are now Indigenous-led companies, such as Cherokee designer Cray Bauxmont-Flynn’s Amatoya and Totem House Design, promoting Indigenous work in furniture and home decor. Supporting Indigenous artists and artisans is essential to confronting the still pervasive issue of cultural appropriation in design.
Find a collection of Native American living room furniture, folk art, rugs and carpets, decorative objects and other items on 1stDibs.
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Style: Native American
Navajo Sterling Silver & Turquoise Hand Made Pill Boxes, Set of Three, 1930s
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A set of three hand made sterling silver pill cases or trinket boxes, Navajo, Native American – circa 1930s.
The boxes are decorated with ...
Category
1930s American Vintage Native American Boxes
Materials
Sterling Silver
1992 Alaska Native Nations Spakwus Eagle Bentwood Yellow Cedar Box
Located in Chula Vista, CA
1992 Alaska Native Bentwood Box
Spakwus Eagle
Red and Black Native Nations
Yellow Cedar
signed appears as David R Moore
dated art 92 August
10.75 x 5.38 d x 7.5 h
Preowned vintage c...
Category
1990s American Native American Boxes
Materials
Bentwood, Cedar
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Wells & Co 1930 Enameled Guilloche Round Pill Box In .925 Sterling Silver
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19th Century Oval Hand Painted Bentwood Brides Box
Located in Atlanta, GA
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Pill Box Fired Enamel with Hand Painted Horse Head Sterling Silver Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Rounded square pill box in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated with white fired enamel, above and below, with hand painted horse head. Dimensions cm. 5.2 x 5.2 x 2.3. Weight gr. 117. Designed by Franco Salimbeni in 1966 on the inspiration of previous artefacts made in the English Art Nouveau style of the early 1900s and manufactured in the Salimbeni company headquarters in Florence in numerous specimens also with different subjects, with completely manual execution by artisan artists with a slab of high thickness suitable for supporting numerous enamelled firings at around 800°C.
Miniature is a very ancient technique which consists of painting works in small proportions.
It was born for the decoration of the first letter of the paragraph of the books.
Over the years, however, this technique is refined and enriched, then moving on to precious personal items.
Hand-painted miniatures can be done with multiple different techniques.
The most important that we use on our articles are of three kinds:
1) Fire enamel.
2) Water tempera on an ivory plate.
3) Painted on mother-of-pearl.
Fire enameled miniatures:
On a first layer of enamel generally white or very clear or even transparent suitably liquefied at a temperature of about 750 ° C, the chosen subject is painted using miniature colors which are as many colored crystals, ground and reduced to a very fine, almost impalpable powder washed and purified in distilled water with the addition of small quantities of deoxidizing acids which, diluted with essential oils (usually essential oil of solder), can be mixed to form a palette of colors.
With very fine sable hair brushes you draw the subject starting from the perimeter and then gradually adding various layers of color.
It is necessary to carry out various firings very often so that the colors harden and are not absorbed by the underlying glaze as, during the subsequent firings at 750 ° C, during liquefaction, it would spread irremediably. Hence the need to form the painting a little at a time, cooking it numerous times.
Therefore it is necessary to proceed with numerous retouching, often overlapping different colors that only the painter's experience knows. A beautiful miniature needs from 20 to over 50 firings and is finished when the painter deems he does not have to further intervene.
Some colors must have darker tones than others because then, by superimposing the transparent enamel placed at the end of the miniature, they fade. This transparent layer, called “fondant” in jargon, must be smoothed and polished like all other translucent enamel colors.
The miniatures with water tempera colors are painted on real...
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1960s Italian Vintage Native American Boxes
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H 0.91 in W 2.05 in D 2.05 in
Antique Book Safe, Continental, Cedar, Disguise Volume Storage Box, Edwardian
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This is an antique book safe. A Continental, cedar disguise volume storage box, dating to the Edwardian period, circa 1910.
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Previously Available Items
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Navajo Sterling Silver & Turquoise Hinged Box, by Gary Reeves
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
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Gary Reeves (1962-2014)
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Mid-Century Era West Coast Haida Styled Copper Covered Box with Repouse Decor
Located in Hamilton, Ontario
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Clarence Wells Signed West Coast Haida Styled Decorative Wooden Box
Located in Hamilton, Ontario
This decorative wooden box was designed by Clarence Wells of Canada and dates to approximately 1970 and done in the West Coast Haida style. The box is h...
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Native American boxes for sale on 1stDibs.
Find a broad range of unique Native American boxes for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the Mid-20th Century, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage boxes created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include decorative objects, folk art and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with metal, silver and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Native American boxes made in a specific country, there are North America, United States, and Asia pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original boxes, popular names associated with this style include Navajo Indian Art, and Sioux Indian Art. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for boxes differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $100 and tops out at $5,250 while the average work can sell for $945.