Islamic Furniture

An Indian antique black box from the 19th century with iron nailheads and braces, carved wooden base and rustic patina. Created in India during the 19th century, this box features a linear silhouette perfectly complimented by a black patina accented with iron nailheads. The lid opens fully to reveal a reddish brown lacquered interior with nicely weathered appearance. Raised on a carved wooden base with iron details, this antique Indian box...

AN INDIAN ROSEWOOD AND EBONY BRASS MOUNTED BOX FOR THE ISLAMIC MARKET Malabar Coast, 18th century With a large drawer with several compartments under a lid with two com...

A Chinese late Qing Dynasty period lidded lunch box from the early 20th century, with weathered patina, large handle and volutes. This early 20th-century Chinese antique lidded lunch...

Exquisitely crafted early 20th century Anglo Indian micro mosaic Sadeli box with gorgeous antique Persian geometric pattern. The finely detailed box featu...

In the form of a house; the hinged top opening to an open interior. In the spirit of early nineteenth century pinworm on ivory boxes that were highly collected in Regency England.

Antique Japanese Lacquered lidded circular box. Wonderful wooden box with lid. Black lacquer to the exterior and red lacquer inside the box with gold painted decoration to the edge o...

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...

A small Indian antique box from the 19th century, with brass details and compartmented interior. Created in India during the 19th century, this small wooden box...

An antique Indian handmade jewelry box from the 19th century with brass hardware, bracket feet and partitioned interior. Created in India during t...

An antique Indian wooden box from the 19th century, with brass details and weathered appearance. Topped with a rectangular lid fitted with a c-scroll handle and half opening to revea...

This handled box is a Japanese tabako-bon, or 'tobacco tray,' used to store tobacco and smoking accessories. Believed to have evolved from the traditional...

A 19th century Mughal dowry chest with carved patterns from India. This chest wooden chest with a slanted top strengthened by metal hardware reinforcements. The front displays lightly carved geometrical friezes. A large carved geometrical medallion adorns the triangular lid. The chest rests on four conical legs. This chest opens thanks to an door on the centre of its top. This unusual item was used as a dowry chest in India. This 19th century, Indian Mughal wood dowry chest...