Inlay Boxes

This 1920s cigars box is an exquisite example of Sorrento marquetry, designed to resemble a row of leather-bound books. The front facade features eleven hand-carved wooden "spines" l...

Circa 1901, Erhard & Söhne, Germany, a Jugendstil/Art Nouveau brass and rosewood string box, decorated in the round with children playing tug-of-war. The lid is beautifully decorated...

18th century inlaid mahogany Georgian serpentine knife box circa 1790 Good quality decorative box, serpentine fronted and an inlaid with a shell patera to the hinged lid. Many other...

Presenting an absolutely stunning 19c Anglo Ceylonese sewing box of museum quality. Made in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) circa 1860, this is one of the finest sewing boxes of it’s kind that we have ever seen! The box is made from coromandel wood (an exotic hardwood found in Ceylon) and has a serpentine edging all over the front, back and sides. Very often the lids/tops of these boxes suffer cracks due to shrinkage but this one is near perfect with no crack in the lid/top. There is some evidence of natural shrinkage but that is around the edges of the lid/top. It is when you open this box that it reveals it’s true beauty, quality and treasure ! The inside of the lid/top is heavily and beautifully decorated with inlaid bone in scrolling floral patterns which have then been hand painted with red and black ‘lac’ ink. The central medallion is a circle of inlaid specimen exotic hardwoods radiating towards a central bone and hand painted flower. The circle is edged in bone, wood and silver chevrons. What makes this box Exceptionally rare is that it contains 3 lift out base sections. Normally, there would be a maximum of 2. The first tray/section is clearly for the purposes ancillary to sewing with a pair of sections with bone spools for thread etc. There are 17 other lidded compartments with each one highly decorated using hand painted bone and specimen woods to replicate tortoiseshell. The first tray lifts out to reveal a second removeable tray which is made up of a pair of open sections and 8 specimen wood lidded sections each with chevron banding. The third tray is a smaller tray underneath with 14 lidded compartments each with hand painted bone and specimen wood inlaid lids again, replicating the look of tortoiseshell. Again they are banded with a chevron border. This is a museum quality piece ! It is in fantastic condition for it’s age with the minor shrinkage to the edges of the lid/top, some finger pulls missing and some very minor cracks to the tray lids and bases but nothing that in any way detracts from the piece. No key. Dimensions: Closed the box is 16.75 inches wide, 11.25 inches deep and 7.5 inches high Fully open the box is 16.5 inches high, 16.75 inches wide and 11.4 inches deep Anglo-Indian and ceylonese boxes: 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. Anglo-Indian boxes normally consist of 3 main types:- (1) Most of the best and highest quality Anglo-Indian boxes in the 18th and 19th centuries were made in Vizagapatam, India, renowned for its exquisite craftsmanship in using ivory and tortoiseshell and lac decoration. These are referred to as ‘Vizagapatam Boxes...

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...

"Japanese Kusuri Dansu – Apothecary Box With Yosegi Marquetry & Raden Inlays " A finely crafted Japanese Kusuri Dansu (薬箪笥), or apothecary chest, featuring exceptional geometric marq...

Heavily Inlaid with Mother of Pearl and Abalone From our Writing Box collection, we are pleased to offer this stunning Antique Inlaid Writing Box by Hausburg. The Writing Box of rec...

PRESENTING an ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS and EXTREMELY UNIQUE and RARE 19C British Tunbridgeware Micromosaic Lap Desk. This lap desk is unlike any of it’s kind we have seen before. From c...

19th century inlaid Killarney ware writing slope circa 1870. Beautiful Irish killarney region writing slope, beautifully inlaid with the various woods they used to craft with. Killa...

Luxurious red coral box from Maitland-Smith. This beautiful box crafted of authentic red coral tiles is luxurious and glamorous. Each of the pieces that ...

Moorish Spain Arch Top Intricate detailed wood inlaid Marquetry Jewelry box. An Hispano Moresque Arch Top Wood Inlaid Marquetry Jewelry Box Casket. Moori...

This exquisite French Napoléon III black lacquer box is a fine 19th-century desk accessory distinguished by its elegant proportions and Boulle-style decorative cartouche. Crafted wit...

Mughal style pietra dura marble box - hand made - featuring an over-all floral and vine design with lapis lazuli, mother-of-pearl and black onyx inlay - signed on the base and the li...

Middle Eastern Sadeli micro mosaic inlaid jewelry footed box with lid. Intricate inlaid box with floral and geometric Moorish design. Sadeli micro mosaic designs in mosaic marquetry, very fine artwork. Lined with red velvet and glass, top final and feet are brass. A highly collectible example in superb condition complete Circa 1900. Museum piece like the ones in Doris Duke Islamic Art Museum. Middle Eastern Arabian Micro Mosaic Moorish...

This large mid nineteenth century marquetry box from the Napoleon III period features a burl thuya wood field surrounded by a concentric border of intricately inlaid ebonized pearwoo...

1980s decorative pen shell cube box attributed to Maitland Smith. Medium brown pen shell with dark gray tessellated stone accents. Wood lined box. No ma...

PRESENTING A BEAUTIFUL and RARE 19C Anglo Ceylonese Specimen Wood Trinket Box. Made in ‘Galle’, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) circa 1860-80. Made for the ex...

Italian cigarettes tobacco box Art Deco 1930 with inlays of fine Sorrento woods . With the flap that once opened shows all the matchstick cigarettes, ...

A mid century black box by Courcec of Monterey California depicting an inlaid road-runner on lid. The box with a full length brass hinge that opens to full storage. The box retains t...

FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING Boulle stationery box by Leuchars & Sons, dating to the late nineteenth century during the Victorian period, circa 1880. The box is of rectangular form with...

Handcrafted marquetry Moorish wood inlay micro mosaic with miniature hand painted scene. Handcrafted khatam wooden box with very delicate micro mosaic marquetry from the ancient Pers...

A fine antique Imperial Russian engraved silver and niello tobacco box/case, 1886, Moscow, Alexander Fuld. The case is finely engraved with engraved niello designs, the hinged lid ha...

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 ...

An exceptionally fine quality example of an early 19th century burr wood campaign writing slope, in beautifully grained burl, with polished brass inlaid, of French origin. Opening to...

Featuring Alternating Panels From our Tea Caddy collection, we are delighted to offer this fine Regency Tortoiseshell and Mother of Pearl Serpentine Tea Caddy. The Tea Caddy of rect...

Harlequin Pop Up Secret Compartment From our Writing Box collection, we are pleased to offer this Antique Coromandel and Satinwood lined Writing Box by Fisher. The Writing Box of re...

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

19th century folk art box, with burl wood veneer and mother of pearl and fruit wood inlay. The surface decorated with geometric, diamond and star motifs. The raised top with a banded...

The Paris based label has distinguished themselves since their launch, with their iconic use of shagreen mixed with brass and other exotic materials. All furniture is handcrafted by ...

A stunning vintage Moorish arabesque inlaid table box, 20th century, high quality rectangular box with hinged lid, featuring contrasting mother of pearl, exotic hardwood, and bone marquetry inlay arranged in geometric patterns, opening to red fabric lined interior. Dimensions: (approx) 3" High, 16.75" Wide, 6 1/8" Deep; 3.2lbs As warm and attractive as it is functional, having the ideal large size and proportions for a variety of different uses, including concealing a remote control on your coffee table or sofa table, or as a jewelry casket, trinket case...

The Paris based label has distinguished themselves since their launch, with their iconic use of shagreen mixed with brass and other exotic materials. All furniture is handcrafted by ...

The Paris based label has distinguished themselves since their launch, with their iconic use of shagreen mixed with brass and other exotic materials. All furniture is handcrafted by skilled artisans, ultimately making each piece unique, designed in Paris and produced in the Philippines. The Wave jewelry...

Maitland Smith 1980s large tessellated stone and brass inlay decorative box. Light pink stone with light pink detailing. Brass banding retains unpolished patina.

A stunning Japanese Edo period lacquer tanzakubako, box for poem cards, late 18th-early 19th century, Edo Period, Japan. Attributed to the Igarashi School, this box is masterfully ...

A rare and exquisite set of three French octagonal nesting boxes in straw marquetry on wood, handcrafted circa 1970 in the refined spirit of Jean-Michel Frank. Each lid showcases a u...

Raised on Four Legs with a Domed Top From our Jewellery Box collection, we are delighted to introduce into the market this stunning Tortoiseshell and Silver Jewellery Box by William...

Inlaid with Twin Conch Shells From our Tea Caddy collection, we are delighted to offer this beautiful antique Georgian Burr Yew wood Tea Caddy. The Tea Caddy of rectangular form wit...

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...

Art Deco Marquetry Cigar Box, Decorative Wooden Jewelry Box, France 1940s Elegant wooden cigar box with marquetry inlays of various wood species veneers. Beautifully crafted, it ca...

Round jewelry box made of solid turned walnut and decorated with small ebony inserts. The inlay forms an ascending geometric pattern. The lid opens by splitting into two parts by rot...

Precious rectangular sewing box in rosewood veneer called. Uncovered, it presents a mirror with braids on the back of the lid. This charming sewing set is lined with moire and pink velvet and is composed of two small square porcelain bottles with openwork polychrome flowers, marked "L" on the bottom, a removable rectangular pad supporting two spools of gold thread and finely chiseled with a central chiseled cartridge-shaped, overhung by a button. A central tray on a raised base holds five sewing items...

Austro-Hungarian empire mechanical vesta tinder case made by Karl Rössler Beautiful antique fusee vesta tinder case, created in Vienna Austria around the...

Fabulous Anglo-Indian decorative box inlaid. Made in Vizagapatam, situated on the south east coast of India, near Madras. Great decorative inlaid pen box or jewelry box. Inside dimen...

This exquisite vintage box from Mexico features a richly textured stone mosaic design on its surface, combining deep shades of blue and green. The geometric ornamentation is crafted ...

Stunning and great condition, brass Secessionist box with amazing inlay and the original key. There are -for good reasons- collectors of the Vienne...

Over the years, British design company Linley has developed expertise in creating scaled versions of famous architectural buildings including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Royal Albert Hall and the Royal Opera House. In this instance, Highclere Castle...

An impressive humidor by Glynn Lockett applied with Crocodile skin and gilt mounts. The top surmounted with a crocodile with sapphire eyes, next to an undulating lapis lazuli pane...

c.1800, England, Regency brass inlaid rosewood lap desk in the manner of George Bullock. Rectangular box with double-hinged lid, opening to tooled na...

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...

1950s Anglo Indian Micro Sadeli Mosaic Inlaid Jewelry Box. DIMENSIONS: 7ʺW × 7ʺD × 2.5ʺH. Indo Persian Moorish style micro mosaic inlaid jewelry box with lid. Intricate inlaid Anglo ...

19th century Anglo-Indian sandal wood box, Sadeli mosaic box fitted with various compartments finely hand-carved with the Taj Mahal. Of sarcophagus form ...

Dovedale — has designed two different humidors, a smaller humidor carrying fifty cigars and a more substantial to take a hundred cigars. Both are lined with Spanish cedar to keep the...

A beautiful Tile Mosaic and Brass box with wooden interior - the box is made in Taxco by Salvador Teran, who started the famed Los Castillo shop. The maker of the box is likely Salv...

A fine and elegant Korean black lacquer and abalone mother of pearl inlay "longevity" box, circa 1930s, Korea. The box, most likely used to sto...

Antique Victorian marquetry jewelry box with satinwood and ebony stringing - fine quality with aged patina - featuring veneered top and sides - diamond shaped satinwood key escutcheo...

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 ...

An Important and Rare 17th to 18th Century Italian Pietra Dura Ormolu Mounted Ebony Jewelry Box/ Casket, attributed to Ducal workshop. The rectangu...

Beautiful antique Napoleon III tea box, crafted of black ebonised wood. The inlay is in Boulle style, marquetry of mother-of-pearl, brass and tortoise. The interior has tree compartm...

A Moroccan Decorative Lidded Box, 20th Century Provenance: Private Australian Collection. Dimensions: Height: 27cm. Width: 31cm. Depth: 18cm.

Water flowing over rocks creates a contrast between the sparkle of the water and the relative opacity of the rocks. In these boxes black lacquer pours over natural shells that glow a...