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Technique: Inlay
Japanese Momoyama Period Black Lacquer and Mother of Pearl Box, 16th Century
Located in Austin, TX
A fine and unusual Japanese black lacquer and mother of pearl inlaid box, Momoyama Period, 16th century, Japan.
The large box and cover featu...
Category
16th Century Japanese Edo Antique Inlay Boxes
Materials
Lacquer, Abalone
A fine millefiori murrine handle vase from Murano, ca. 1910, Fratelli Toso
Located in Aachen, DE
A fine millefiori murrine vase by the Toso brothers, made on the island of Murano around 1910. The lovely colored and decorated murrine were cut from glass canes, arranged on a plate...
Category
1910s Italian Arts and Crafts Vintage Inlay Boxes
Materials
Glass, Art Glass, Blown Glass, Murano Glass, Murrine
Don Shoemaker - Senal Exotic Mixed Hardwoods Rosewood Trinket Box Made in Mexico
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Designed by eccentric woodworker and designer Don Shoemaker, this trinket box was made by Senal in Mexico. It employs a cacophany of exotic woods, including cocobolo, jacaranda, and ...
Category
1970s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Vintage Inlay Boxes
Materials
Jacaranda, Mahogany, Rosewood, Cocobolo
Antique English Victorian Coromandel and Mother of Pearl Jewellery Box
Located in Northampton, GB
Victorian Circa 1875
From our Jewellery Box collection, we are pleased to offer this stunning Coromandel and Mother of Pearl Jewellery Box. The Jewellery Box of rectangular shape be...
Category
Late 19th Century English High Victorian Antique Inlay Boxes
Materials
Shell, Wood
Antique Regency Boulle Tortoiseshell Tea Chest
Located in Northampton, GB
Boulle Style Front
From our Tea Caddy collection, we are thrilled to offer this Regency Tortoiseshell Tea Chest. The Tea Chest of sarcophagus shape with a gently tapering body and a...
Category
Early 19th Century English George IV Antique Inlay Boxes
Materials
Brass, Pewter
Decorative and Jewelry Box in Wood with Geometrical Inlays France 1970
Located in Auribeau sur Siagne, FR
This box is a jewelry box or a decorative box. It was made in the 1970s, in France. Its lid is made of a checkerboard rectangle in wood. It is brown in color.
Category
1970s French Vintage Inlay Boxes
Materials
Wood
$331 Sale Price
20% Off
Antique Figured Walnut Complete Sewing Box Hausburg
By F.L. Hausburg
Located in Northampton, GB
Complete with Sewing Accompaniments
From our Sewing Boxes collection, we are thrilled to offer this stunning Figured Walnut Sewing Box Attributed to Hausburg. The box of rectangula...
Category
Early 19th Century English Early Victorian Antique Inlay Boxes
Materials
Brass
Moorish Handcrafted Middle Eastern Mosaic Inlaid Decorative Box
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Exquisite handcrafted Middle Eastern mosaic marquetry inlaid walnut wood box.
Large box intricately decorated with Moorish motif designs which ha...
Category
Mid-20th Century Lebanese Moorish Inlay Boxes
Materials
Shell, Fruitwood, Abalone
Antique Georgian Masonic Freemasons Tea Caddy
Located in Northampton, GB
Featuring Masonic Scenes
From our Tea Caddy collection, we are delighted to offer this extremely rare Georgian Masonic Tea caddy. The Tea Caddy of box form with chequered edging and borders of Tulipwood surrounding Burr Yew wood squares each featuring Satinwood oval panels depicting Masonic Symbols. The symbols include the past master, senior warden, junior warden and the past worshipful master. The top of the box features inlaid moon, stars and sun surmounted by a brass carry handle. The interior of the Tea Caddy features a floating lid with a turned metal handle. The Tea Caddy dates to the Georgian period during the reign of George III circa 1800.
The Tea Caddy comes complete with working lock and tasselled key.
Tulipwood is also known as Brazilian Tulipwood, Brazilian Pinkwood and Bahia Rosewood. It is found in South America, mainly Brazil. The colour is a warm yellow with streaks or brown-red grain.
Burr Yew originates from Asia, Europe and North Africa. It is yellow-brown to orange-brown and usually conforms to a fine uniform pattern. Yew wood usually has black pips scattered throughout so clean veneers fetch a high price and are reserved for finer items. A few trees will produce a burr which offers a distinct decorative finish.
Satinwood is found in India and Sri Lanka. It has a rich golden colour and an almost reflective sheen. Satinwood is traditionally used for high quality furniture.
Georgian, a period in British history dating from 1714-1837, the Georgian era after the Hanoverian kings George I, George II, George III and George IV.
Masonic (Freemasons, Freemasonry or Masonry) refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that from the end of the 14th century regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities and clients. While Freemasonry is not itself a religion, all its members believe in a supreme being...
Category
Early 1800s English George III Antique Inlay Boxes
Materials
Satinwood, Tulipwood, Yew
Boulle marquetry tea box, Napoléon III period, late 19th century signed Vervelle
Located in GRENOBLE, FR
Beautiful Boulle marquetry and blackened wood tea box / tea caddy, brass pattern inlaid, mahogany veneer inside. Mid 19th century circa 1840 - 1850, typic...
Category
Mid-19th Century French Napoleon III Antique Inlay Boxes
Materials
Brass
Late 19th Century Decorative Box - Marquetry Wood - Cubics
Located in Casteren, Noord-Brabant
A beautiful antique decorative box, inlaid with different types of wood.
This type of marquetry work is also called 'Oeben Cubes', named after the famous ebenist Jean Oeben (1721-176...
Category
1880s French Belle Époque Antique Inlay Boxes
Materials
Wood, Fruitwood, Walnut, Burl
Antique Japanese Lacquer and Inlay Kang Table from Ryukyu Island
Located in Atlanta, GA
A small low table with lacquer and intricate mother-of-pearl inlay design from Ryukyu Islands kingdom circa 17-18th century. Ryukyuan kingdom was used to be an independent island cou...
Category
18th Century Japanese Edo Antique Inlay Boxes
Materials
Mother-of-Pearl, Lacquer
Middle Eastern Moorish Mother of Pearl Inlaid Marquetry Jewelry Box
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Middle Eastern Moorish Mother of Pearl Inlaid Marquetry Jewelry Box.
Exquisite middle Eastern Moorish Syrian inlay jewelry box covered with fine Moorish micro mosaic marquetry.
Beaut...
Category
Mid-20th Century Lebanese Islamic Inlay Boxes
Materials
Fruitwood
Antique English Large Tunbridge Box With Marquetry Inlay
Located in Bridgeport, CT
An antique English Tunbridge box with geometric inlay, hinged lid, red velvet interior, felted bottom and comes with working key. The box with a diamond form inlaid medallion flanked...
Category
19th Century English Victorian Antique Inlay Boxes
Materials
Velvet, Wood
19th Century French Miniature Jewelry Chest of Drawers
Located in Haddonfield, NJ
This antique wood storage or jewelry box features three drawers with a flip up top with mirror. The box has has lots of character, charm and patina including the brass hardware.
Category
19th Century French Louis XVI Antique Inlay Boxes
Materials
Brass, Bronze
Hand Carved Lapis Lazuli Mosaic Jewelry Box with Marble Interior
Located in New York, NY
Lapis lazuli hand carved mosaic lidded box, with white marble interior.
Natural lapis stone has beautiful golden pyrite inclusions, like a sprinkling of fairy dust. The lapis mosaic...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Italian Modern Inlay Boxes
Materials
Lapis Lazuli, Marble
Moroccan Moorish Middle Eastern Large Inlaid Wood Micro Mosaic Jewelry Box
Located in Studio City, CA
Stunning mosaic design, this intricate wood box is made from multiple micro pieces of wood with some possible bone inlays. Gorgeous craftsmanship. A true work of art.
Would be a ...
Category
20th Century Moorish Inlay Boxes
Materials
Wood
Pietra Dura white marble box with flower stone inlay : Malachite, Lapis Lazuli
Located in BELFORT, FR
Beautiful white marble jewelry box with floral inlay, made with different semi preciouses stones such as Malachite, Lapis Lazuli and Carnelian. It was made in India in the 1960's.
Category
1960s Indian Anglo Raj Vintage Inlay Boxes
Materials
Carnelian, Lapis Lazuli, Malachite, Marble
Antique Japanese Lacquer and Inlay Box from Ryukyu Island
Located in Atlanta, GA
A lacquer presentation box with mother-of-pearl inlays from Japanese Ryukyu Islands circa 17-18th century. The lidded box in rectangular form with rounded corner is a classic example...
Category
18th Century Japanese Japonisme Antique Inlay Boxes
Materials
Mother-of-Pearl, Lacquer
Alfred Daguet, Paris, Art Nouveau Embossed Brass & Inlaid Glass Cabochons Box
Located in Lisse, NL
One of a kind and all hand-crafted, good size antique box by Alfred Daguet (1875-1942).
Alfred Daguet was a French craftsman/metalsmith, active around the early 1900s and who specia...
Category
Early 20th Century French Arts and Crafts Inlay Boxes
Materials
Brass, Copper
Urushi Lacquer Eggshell Round Brule Box, Medium by Alexander Lamont
Located in Khet Bang Sue, Krung Thep Maha Nakhon
Brulé means 'burnt' in French. Raw and delicate, the Brulé boxes evoke the idea of baked earth or ashes. There is a powerful energy in the details of decisio...
Category
2010s Thai Art Deco Inlay Boxes
Materials
Eggshell, Lacquer
Antique English Tunbridge Ware Sewing Box
Located in Northampton, GB
Fitted Tunbridge Ware Sewing Box Interior
From our Tunbridge Ware collection, we are delighted to offer this Tunbridge Ware Sewing Box. The Rosewood box of rectangular form extensiv...
Category
Mid-19th Century English Early Victorian Antique Inlay Boxes
Materials
Wood
Art Nouveau Box with Marquetry, Germany, dated 1906
Located in Greven, DE
Antique Art Nouveau box or jewelry box with beautiful marquetry.
The curved box is decorated all around with a so-called cube marquetry. By cleverly arranging different colored wood...
Category
Early 1900s German Art Nouveau Antique Inlay Boxes
Materials
Wood
Antique Decorative Middle Eastern Islamic Box 1940s
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Antique 1940s Mosaic Shell Inlaid Decorative Middle Eastern Islamic Box.
Mosaic Luxury Decorative Middle Eastern Islamic Vanity Box.
Middle Eastern Asian Mosaic Wood Box with Inlays ...
Category
Mid-20th Century Lebanese Moorish Inlay Boxes
Materials
Bone, Shell, Abalone, Fruitwood
19th Century Anglo Indian Inlaid Mosaic Box With Drop Front and Drawers
Located in Stamford, CT
19th Century Anglo Indian fall front box with six drawers with metal pulls. The exterior and interior inlaid throughout with bone and various woods. Intricate geometric designs cover...
Category
Mid-19th Century Antique Inlay Boxes
Materials
Bone, Fruitwood, Holly
Finest Quality Reuge Swiss 3.72 Note Grand Piano Inlaid Music Box Plays 3 Songs
Located in Tustin, CA
Astounding, finest quality, hand-made estate 3.72 note "Reuge" music and jewelry box grand piano with gorgeous instrumental motif marquetry on burl walnut wood case. The music box plays 3 songs. Flawless sound featuring a 72 note Swiss movement. The wood piano case is handmade in Italy by the world's best master artisans in marquetry.
One cylinder; 3 melodies playing one after another. It plays for a very long time when fully wound.
Reuge 72...
Category
21st Century and Contemporary Swiss Neoclassical Inlay Boxes
Materials
Burl
Marble Box with Jewish Star of David Design
Located in New York, NY
A beautiful modern style or Postmodern period marble and brass box with Jewish Star of David design, circa late-20th century, 1980s, 90s. Box, att...
Category
Late 20th Century Philippine Post-Modern Inlay Boxes
Materials
Stone, Marble, Brass
$500 Sale Price
20% Off
Early 20th century Edwardian mahogany inlaid wine cooler
Located in Debenham, Suffolk
Early 20th century Edwardian mahogany inlaid wine cooler, circa 1905.
Sheraton revival wine cooler cellarette. Top with oval stringing and inlaid ebony. Lid opens to reveal compartm...
Category
20th Century English Edwardian Inlay Boxes
Materials
Mahogany
Edwardian Marquetry Sunburst Walnut and Burlwood Box, England, Late 19th Century
Located in Morristown, NJ
Edwardian Marquetry Sunburst Walnut and Burlwood Box, England, Late 19th Century
A finely crafted Edwardian circular parquetry box, England, late 19th century. The lid is adorned wi...
Category
1890s English Edwardian Antique Inlay Boxes
Materials
Metal
Handwrought Mid-Century Modern Mexican Mosaic and Brass Box by Salvador Teran
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Turquoise/ blue colored mosaic glass tesserae and brass lidded box handmade in Mexico by noted Mexican artist Salvador Teran, circa 1950s. Featuring Aztec-inspired brass symbols on the lid and sides. This colorful box...
Category
Mid-20th Century Mexican Mid-Century Modern Inlay Boxes
Materials
Brass
Middle Eastern Mosaic Wooden Inlaid Marquetry Box for Game Chess and Backgammon
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Middle Eastern Mosaic Wooden Inlaid Marquetry Box Game Backgammon and Chess.
Middle Eastern Micro Mosaic Wooden Inlaid Marquetry Box.
Large vintage Moorish Syrian style micro mosaic ...
Category
Mid-20th Century Lebanese Islamic Inlay Boxes
Materials
Fruitwood
19th Century English Dresser Box
Located in High Point, NC
19th century English dresser box made from exquisitely grained rosewood. The box has wonderfully inlaid patterns on the top and front in...
Category
19th Century English Victorian Antique Inlay Boxes
Materials
Ivory, Rosewood
19th Century American Rosewood Box With Fruit Wood Star Inlay, Fun Interior
Located in Stamford, CT
A beautifully made hand carved rosewood and fruit wood box with heart shaped bone escutcheon.The whimsical interior lined with paper carpet pattern from...
Category
Late 19th Century American Antique Inlay Boxes
Materials
Glass, Fruitwood, Rosewood
English 19th Century Square Jewelry Box
Located in Baton Rouge, LA
An English burl mahogany and inlay jewelry box from the 1800’s. The top of this square box has an inlaid cartouche of ebony, birdseye maple, and oak with brass banding. The box opens...
Category
19th Century English Other Antique Inlay Boxes
Materials
Silk, Birdseye Maple, Ebony, Mahogany, Oak
Marquetry Wood Box with Mosaic Bone Inlays, Middle East. c. 1970's
Located in Fort Lauderdale, FL
Exquisite handcrafted Khatam wood box with micro mosaic marquetry design, an Ancient Persian technique of inlaying. Moorish style box features geometric inlays of wood and bone. Art...
Category
1970s West Asian Moorish Vintage Inlay Boxes
Materials
Enamel
Antique George III Harewood Inlaid Tea Chest
Located in Northampton, GB
With Two Tea Caddies
From our Tea Caddy collection, we are pleased to offer this Georgian Harewood Tea Chest. The Tea Chest of rectangular form veneered in Harewood with inlaid Boxw...
Category
Late 18th Century English George III Antique Inlay Boxes
Materials
Boxwood, Harewood
Chinese Round Black Lacquer Box with Mother of Pearl Inlay, likely 20th Century
Located in Cathedral City, CA
Chinese Round Black Lacquer Box with Mother of Pearl Inlay, likely 20th Century
Beautiful and useful 20th century. Chinese lacquer box of circular shape, the domed cover with flora...
Category
Early 20th Century Chinese Chinese Export Inlay Boxes
Materials
Mother-of-Pearl, Wood, Lacquer
Rare Late 18th/Early 19th Century French Colored Straw Marquetry Sewing Box
Located in Forney, TX
A rare French marqueterie de paille (colored straw marquetry)
sewing work box.
Delicately hand-crafted in Provincial Burgundy, France, late 18th / ...
Category
Early 19th Century French French Provincial Antique Inlay Boxes
Materials
Straw
Rare Georgian Engine Turned Sewing Box
Located in Northampton, GB
Rare Engine Turned Design
The Sewing Box of slight sarcophagus shape stood upon four turned ribbed feet. The Sewing Box tapers up to the convex raised lid and features scrolling fl...
Category
Early 19th Century English William IV Antique Inlay Boxes
Materials
Brass
Mid 20th Century Anglo Indian Carved Wood Jewelry Box Kashmir India
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Vintage hand carved wood jewelry trinket storage box with brass inlaid.
Hand-carved large wooden Anglo-Raj jewelry box. Found in Kashmir, India.
Mi...
Category
Mid-20th Century Indian Anglo-Indian Inlay Boxes
Materials
Brass
1980's Tessellated Stone & Brass Lidded Box by Desia
Located in San Juan Capistrano, CA
Felt-lined lidded box all handcrafted from natural stones Indigenous to the Philippines.
Category
1980s Philippine Post-Modern Vintage Inlay Boxes
Materials
Stone
19th Century Victorian Jewelry Box
Located in Casteren, Noord-Brabant
Beautiful antique Victorian jewelery box. The box is made of wood, covered with paper machee, lacquered black and inlaid with a mosaic of mother-of-pearl. Painted with gold colored decorations. The interior of the box is lined with blue silk fabric...
Category
1880s British Victorian Antique Inlay Boxes
Materials
Wood, Paper
Large Antique French Boulle Napoleon III Marquetry Box
By Audige
Located in Vilnius, LT
Antique 19th century French Boulle/Napoleon III marquetry box.
The wooden box is decorated with inlaid brass and tortoiseshell and red silk textile inside.
Including key.
Signed: Aud...
Category
Mid-19th Century French Napoleon III Antique Inlay Boxes
Materials
Brass
Middle Eastern Persian Micro Mosaic Khatam Inlaid Jewelry Box
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Large Middle Eastern Indo-Persian Micro Mosaic Khatam Inlaid Wooden Jewelry Box.
Middle Eastern Persian Sadeli micro mosaic marquetry inlaid box with geometric Moorish design.
Handcrafted Khatam wooden box with very delicate micro mosaic marquetry from the ancient Middle Eastern technique of inlaying from arrangements of so many delicate pieces of precious hand painted wood, with bone around the edges.
This beautiful Middle Eastern Persian, Indian Wooden box is covered with fine Moorish micro mosaic marquetry and is used as a jewelry, trinket box.
Lined in deep red velvet.
Dimensions: 6.5in.D x 3in.H x 10 wide.
Nice Indian Mughal, Indo Persian Box...
Category
Mid-20th Century Indian Moorish Inlay Boxes
Materials
Fruitwood
Vintage Agate Inlaid Moorish Wedding Jewelry Dressing Box
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Large vintage Moorish wedding jewelry box inlaid with semi-precious agate stones and covered with brass and silvered metal filigree.
Large circular Moorish Middle East jewelry...
Category
20th Century Moroccan Moorish Inlay Boxes
Materials
Metal, Brass
Antique English Georgian Hexagonal Satinwood Tea Caddy
Located in Northampton, GB
Kingwood Inlay
From our Tea Caddy collection, we are delighted to offer this Elongated Hexagonal Satinwood Tea Caddy. The Tea Caddy of stretched hexagonal shape with six matching pa...
Category
Late 18th Century English George III Antique Inlay Boxes
Materials
Silver Plate
Unusual Antique Victorian Quality Rosewood Inlaid Writing Box
Located in Suffolk, GB
Unusual Antique Victorian quality rosewood inlaid writing box with two lift up tops opening to reveal a writing surface with original ink bottles an...
Category
19th Century English Victorian Antique Inlay Boxes
Materials
Other
Fine Cloisonné Enamel Sterling Silver Pill Box
Located in Worcester, GB
Fine Cloisonné Enamel Sterling Silver Pill Box, India, circa 1970
A finely crafted kidney-shaped sterling silver pill box, delicately enamelled throughout in vibrant shades of cobal...
Category
Mid-20th Century Indian Inlay Boxes
Materials
Sterling Silver, Enamel
Fabergé Style Bejewelled and Enamelled Gold Egg by Asprey
Located in London, GB
This exceptional, 18 carat gold Easter egg was crafted by the famous London-based royal jewellers, Asprey & Co. The piece was then retailed by Garrard & Co, who once worked in collaboration with Asprey, producing luxury jewellery and silver for an elite clientele.
The egg has been crafted from gold filigree — that is, gold wires interwoven to make a delicate lace-like pattern. The gold is arranged to form the image of a peacock, with a magnificent fanned train, composed of red, dark blue and green coloured plique-à-jour enamel. The light blue body of the peacock, and its long swirling light and dark blue tail feathers, have been crafted from intricate guilloché enamel, which is often found on Fabergé style eggs...
Category
1990s English Inlay Boxes
Materials
Gold
Victorian Brass Bound Mahogany Jewelry Box
Located in Northampton, GB
With Engraved Family Crest
From our Jewellery Box collection, we are delighted to offer this Georgian Mahogany Jewellery Watch Box. The Box of rectangular form made from Mahogany fe...
Category
Mid-19th Century English High Victorian Antique Inlay Boxes
Materials
Brass
Mother of Pearl Mosaic Inlay Trinket Box, Middle Eastern, c. 1960's
Located in Fort Lauderdale, FL
Exquisite handcrafted geometric wood box with micro mosaic inlays of mother of pearl in Khatam artistry, an Ancient Persian technique of inlaying. Moorish style box also features geo...
Category
1960s West Asian Moorish Vintage Inlay Boxes
Materials
Bone, Mother-of-Pearl, Velvet, Wood
Hinged Inlaid Malachite and Lapis Cigar Box, Los Castillos Style, Mexico, 1950s
Located in Miami Beach, FL
Hinged inlaid malachite and sodalite (or lapis lazuli) brass metal box with rosewood interior. An Aztec pyramid and mountains grace the lid. The metal smiths of Taxco, Mexico were kn...
Category
1950s Mexican Mid-Century Modern Vintage Inlay Boxes
Materials
Malachite, Brass
$360 Sale Price
20% Off
19th C. Boulle Inlaid Table Box Miniature Pastoral Landscape, Signed 'Resck'
Located in West Palm Beach, FL
19th C. Boulle Inlaid Table Box Miniature Pastoral Landscape, Signed 'Resck'
19th Century or Older
This exquisite 19th-century Boulle inlaid table box features a beautifully detail...
Category
19th Century French Baroque Antique Inlay Boxes
Materials
Brass, Bronze, Pewter
Moroccan Dowry Box Inlaid with White Camel Bone Rectangular Carved Wood Trunk
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Antique handcrafted Moroccan jewelry wooden box with camel bone inlay trunk.
A large early 20th century decorative Moroccan camel bone casket with bra...
Category
Early 20th Century Moroccan Moorish Inlay Boxes
Materials
Metal
21st Century "Caruso" Jewelry Wood Brown Box handmade, Italy
Located in Turin, IT
Caruso wooden box is handmade from precious type of wood in the workshop of Ivan Paradisi Atelier. Its simple, like the famous accompaniment to Caruso song, design doesn’t need more ...
Category
2010s Italian Modern Inlay Boxes
Materials
Leather, Wood
19C Anglo Indian Bombay MOP Sadeli Mosaic Trinket Box
Located in Dallas, TX
PRESENTING a LOVELY 19C Anglo Indian Bombay MOP (Mother of Pearl) Sadeli Mosaic Trinket Box from circa 1875-85.
Gorgeously detailed and hand-crafted ‘sadeli mosaic’ inlay, from the Bombay Area, with deep greens with silver, pewter, mother of pearl, bone and ebony in geometric patterns.
The box case, is made of sandalwood but completely covered in MOP, bone, faux ivory, ebony and mosaic inlay.
Edged with faux ivory and banded with a different pattern of sadeli mosaic.
Some minor damage to the top (repair is obvious in pics) and ivorine replacements to some edging, but it still a BEAUTIFUL BOX and of real QUALITY!
The mosaic work is FABULOUS!
Box opens to reveal its original blue velvet lining.
It sits on 4 (recently added) silvered button feet.
SADELI MOSAIC: “Anglo Indian boxes were made in India for the English residents from the early part of the 18th century. They were brought back or sent back to England usually by the people who had commissioned them. From the beginning of the nineteenth century they were imported more commercially, although not in any significant numbers until the middle decades. They were very highly valued, especially the early ones, to the extent that the designs were copied on late 19th and early 20th century tins.
The ancient art of Sadeli Mosaic is said to have been introduced from Shiraz in Persia via Sind to Bombay, a long time before the Anglo Indian boxes were made. It was a technique, which required a high degree of skill and patience. It was executed very lavishly, in that the frequent cuts wasted a great amount of the precious materials used. The workmanship was however more than commensurable to the value of the materials.
Ivory, silver, pewter (or other metals), wood and horn were cut into faceted rods which were bound together to form geometric patterns. When the glue has set, the rods were sliced in transverse sections. This gave the maker a number of angled circular pieces in the original pattern. Several variations of patterns could be achieved by combining the materials in different ways. The ivory was sometimes dyed green to give an extra color.
The mosaic pieces in a combination of patterns, often separated by ivory, ebony, horn or silver stringing were used to veneer sandalwood boxes. In the early boxes, which date from the turn of the 18th to the 19th century, there are large panels of mosaic covering tops and sides of boxes. It took incredible skill to cover such large areas without any shakes or wavering of the pattern. The corners and joins on these boxes are impeccably matched.
The makers (reputed to be Persian) of Sadeli mosaic made in the first two decades of the 19th century displayed a total understanding of the qualities of the different materials they used. They combined substances, which can expand and contract according to atmospheric conditions with others, which are hard and unyielding. The result was a sharp definition of the lines and patterns, which made up the whole design.
On the early boxes the designs look deceptively simple. The fact is, they emerged from a culture, which had mastered geometry and understood how to generate a pattern from a set number of points. The patterns are so harmoniously combined that their incredible complexity is not immediately apparent.
The earliest Sadeli boxes...
Category
Late 19th Century Indian Anglo-Indian Antique Inlay Boxes
Materials
Silver
19th Century English Tunbridge Ware Marquetry Tea Caddy
Located in Forney, TX
A well-made antique, circa 1830, English tea caddy with stunning marquetry inlays, warm coloring, superb detailing, and luminous rich patina!
When tea first arrived in Europe in t...
Category
19th Century English Regency Antique Inlay Boxes
Materials
Brass
Antique Inlaid Box with Hidden Compartment
Located in Pittsburgh, PA
A captivating example of Syrian craftsmanship, this inlaid wooden box dates to 1960 and features detailed geometric marquetry in traditional motifs. Beyond its decorative appeal, the...
Category
1960s Syrian Moorish Vintage Inlay Boxes
Materials
Wood
Miniature Walnut Commode
Located in Greenwich, CT
Early 19th Century walnut commode, the inlaid top with cookie corners over turned and fluted legs flanking three inlaid drawers and standing on turned turnip feet, French or Italian ...
Category
Early 19th Century Italian Directoire Antique Inlay Boxes
Materials
Ebony, Fruitwood, Walnut, Pine
$2,850
Embriachi workshop marquetry casket - Northern Italy, 15th century
Located in Bruxelles, BE
Embriachi workshop marquetry casket
Northern Italy, 15th century
Alla certosina inlays (bone, stained bone, pewter and wood)
H 28.2 x W 18 x D 14 cm
This beautiful casket of rectangular form is richly decorated with the characteristic geometric patterns of the Embriachi style.
The intricate geometric patterns are fashioned by juxtaposing lighter and darker pieces of wood, (colored) bone, horn and pewter. The lid and base are framed by a broad band of horn. When ivory became scarce in Europe due to disrupted trade routes, bone was substituted.
The attention to Symmetry and balance created an harmonious visual effect
Enhancing the overall aesthetic appeal of the casket.
The application of geometrical motifs is in Italy known as marquetry ‘alla Certosina’, named after the Certosina Church in Pavia with its famous altarpiece decorated in this way. This is ‘intarsia technique’, a term derived from the Arabic 'tarsi', which means ‘incrustation' recalling ancient mosaics made from various materials.
These geometric elements not only enhance the aesthetic appeal of the caskets but also demonstrate the versatility and skill of the artisans in creating multifaceted works of art.
‘Alla Certosina’ became famous through the Northern Italian Embriachi family who achieved a particularly high standard in working in this technique. Venice in particular was known for the production of these luxurious boxes. The caskets, hexagonal or rectangular, surmounted by a lid decorated in several registers constitute the secular, albeit equally renowned component of the workshop’s production, in addition to mirror frames and various everyday objects.
The method of fabrication of those objects was based on two concepts that underlay pre-industrial production: standardization and modularity, thanks to a distribution of skills according to the different phases of fabrication.
even the realization of the marquetry motifs (in the form of ingots from which portions of the desired size were cut) were therefore entrusted to various specialized craftsmen, as were the assembly phase.
Today better known thanks to the extensive research work recently carried out by Michele Tomasi, this workshop owes its name to its founder and owner, the Florentine Baldassare Ubriachi (or degli Embriachi), a merchant and banker established in the Tuscan capital before he settled in Venice in 1395. Together with sculptor Giovanni di Jacopo, who directed the workshop, from the last years of the fourteenth century, Baldassare oversaw a production that was truly original, and still easily recognizable today, comprising monumental altarpieces and various objects, primarily triptychs and caskets.
The precise location of the workshop is unknown, except that it originated in Florence and in ca. 1431 there was apparently a workshop in Venice, in the area of S Luca. They employed local workers specializing in 'certosina' (inlay of stained woods, bone and horn), and the workshop produced items carved in bone (usually horse or ox) with wood and bone marquetry.
The geometric decoration of Embriachi caskets reflects the artistic complexity and attention to detail that characterized their work.
this inlaid casket is a testament to the skill and artistry of the Embriachi family and serves as a stunning example of the decorative arts of the late Middle Ages.
Related Literature :
E. Berger, Prunk-Kassetten: Europäischen Meisterwerke aus acht Jahrhunderten / Ornamental Caskets...
Category
15th Century and Earlier Italian Renaissance Antique Inlay Boxes
Materials
Pewter
$20,097 Sale Price
22% Off
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