Precious Stone Furniture

PRESENTING A VERY NICE 19th century Anglo Indian Highly Carved Sandalwood and Sadeli Mosaic Box. Late 19th century, circa 1880, Anglo-Indian Box from the “Time of the Raj” made in...

PRESENTING A SUPERB AND EXCEPTIONAL EXAMPLE of a mid-19th century Anglo-Indian Sadeli Mosaic Trinket Box. This one is in BEAUTIFUL CONDITION for its age! From circa 1850-1860 and made in the Region of Bombay, India for the British market. The ‘sadeli mosaic’ on this box, is classically an early version, of this type of mosaic work and is ‘coarse’ to the touch. Because of this, most boxes with this type of mosaic, have not survived intact for 170 years, without major losses to the mosaic, from dusting, cleaning, etc. This box only has only had ONE very minor loss of mosaic to the top, which has been repaired and is hardly noticeable, otherwise it is in GREAT ORIGINAL CONDITION! The faux ivory banding is even original to the piece. The ‘Sadeli Mosaic’ on this box is ‘striking’, with gorgeous geometric patterns of silver, pewter, bone, stained bone (green) and ebony. The box case, itself, is made of sandalwood, but it is completely covered in sadeli mosaic and faux ivory and ebony veneer. The lid is banded with a different sadeli mosaic pattern. From circa 1850-60 and made in the Region of Bombay, India for the British market. The interior is lined in its original red velvet lining. The box sits on it’s original 4 brass bulbous feet and the red velvet is also on the base underside. The ‘QUALITY’ of this box is evident from the EXCEPTIONAL Sadeli mosaic work, but also the lock which is an early British ‘Lever’ Lock is a sign of real quality. This is ONE for the SERIOUS COLLECTOR! 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...

PRESENTING AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE & IMPORTANT late 18C Anglo Indian Sadeli Mosaic Sarcophagus Sewing Box. VERY, VERY EARLY Sadeli Mosaic piece, which is what makes it all the more important! Made in the area of Bombay, India circa 1780-1800. The box is in a classic Regency Era Sarcophagus form, very reminiscent of an Egyptian/Summarian Coffins/Tombs. This form features regularly in Tea Caddies of that period and helps us identify this piece as, most definitely, late 18th Century. The box is flanked on either side by scroll shaped ends, with a raised platform on the lid. The box is completely covered in an early version of ‘Sadeli Mosaic’. It is edged/banded in faux ivory and ebony stringing. The box case is made of sandalwood. This box is a really EARLY example of this type of mosaic work. The craftsmen of the Bombay area became famous for their ‘sadeli mosaic’ work, through the 19th Century and most examples of boxes with this mosaic, date from the mid-19th Century up to the early 20th Century. As the surface of the early sadeli work, is quite rough/coarse to the touch, it was very difficult to maintain, as dusting with a cloth, would often ‘lift off’ some of the mosaic. Thus, very, very few pieces have survived fully intact. There is no disputing that this box has lived a ‘full life’, BUT, that is to be expected of most Sadeli Mosaic pieces from 1880 … let alone one, from 100 years earlier than that! It is remarkable that it has survived at all! If this were in better condition, it would be in a museum and/or would have a VERY LARGE price tag of multiples of our asking price! There has been quite a loss of mosaic and banding on the exterior, but the loss has been halted, by a gentle application of filler and clear lacquer. The interior of the box is SUPERB, it is ‘pretty much’ in ORIGINAL CONDITION! The mirror is the original and removeable. It is edged/banded with sadeli mosaic, bone and ebony. It has a removeable base tray with various lidded compartments. Original red velvet lining on the inside of the lid and under the tray. The tray has 3 Sadeli mosaic lidded compartments (1 large and 2 small). The ‘sadeli’ work on the lids, is exceptional and very well preserved, with only very minor losses. You can really see the quality of the original mosaic work on these! It has a removeable pin cushion, banded in bone and hand decorated and the original burgundy velvet. There are 4 bone lids for holding the 6 faux ivory thread spools, thimble, and hand decorated thread cannisters. There is 1 long bone lid for storage underneath. The interior is pretty much as good as it gets! It sits on 4 brass ball feet. THIS IS AN EXCEPTIONALLY RARE 18C MINIATURE SEWING BOX! 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...

Curtis Jere, "The Birds" on rose quartz base, signed 1979. Curated for our one of a kind line, Le Monde.

Gorgeous 19th century tibetan, late Qing Dynasty and made of silver, jade and jadeite pendant with silver chain. The Jadeite pendant is for holding perfume or scent and to be worn...

Exceptional large scale 19th century French doré bronze rose quartz and rock crystal chandelier with 12-light. The teardrop shaped crystals and quartz pieces are very substantial and...

Beautiful pair of 19th century French beaded and crystal sconces with 2-lights. These feature rose quartz, some pink crystals and flowers. Creates a very lovely feminine image!

Very impressive polished rose quartz sphere on an iron base. A beautiful accessory!   

Polished Sodalite slab on hand forged oil rubbed in iron base.

Gorgeous pair of 19th century Anglo-Indian ……. matching trinket boxes. Made in Vizagapatam, India, circa 1870. The boxes are made of sandalwood and covered in faux ivory or bon...

Very nice 19th century Anglo-Indian glove box from circa 1870. Made from sandalwood but heavily inlaid with Bombay Sadeli mosaic and tumbleblock geometr...

Gorgeous and extremely rare example of an Anglo-Indian Sadeli Mosaic Box from circa 1840. Made in or around Bombay, India. This is a sarcophagus shaped sandalwood box encased in f...