Benelux - Boxes

A beautiful antique marquetry wooden box for perfume. The box dates from the French Napoleon III period, circa 1880-1890. The box features those original crystal perfume bottles, bea...

Beautiful and rare Gothic Revival treasure box with bronze handle. If you are a collector of antique boxes and/or if you are looking for an extraordinary jewelry box to grace your credenza or side table then this unique and top quality made specimen in the Gothic style could be perfect. Gothic Revival boxes are very hard to find and we have never seen one with such prodigious carvings on all sides. The unique and cat-like dragon gargoyles (with fangs) that look like they are carrying this casket, are just some of the stunningly carved and detailed sculptures that make this antique rarity even more artistic and impressive. Another great feature are the peacock sculptures. In Christianity the peacock is the symbol of purity. Christians believe that once someone has passed their soul rises and goes to heaven. This is why in earlier times Christians would spread the feathers of a peacock over the deceased since it symbolized a pure soul that was immune to corruption. The peacock also represents immortality, resurrection, and the spiritual teachings of Jesus Christ and the Christian church. Have you also noticed the top quality details on both ends of the bronze handle on top? The quality of that ornamental work is of the absolute highest standard also. There are many more incredibly beautiful, hand carved details and together they show that no expense was spared to create one of the most amazing Gothic caskets...

Swedish antique pine and birch wooden flour box. All made by hand, the lid is perfectly adjusted to the barrel. Fine quality of bentwood. It is a true piece from the late 18 century ...

A beautiful decorative storage chest. The chest is made of solid oak. At the front, top and both sides a copper diamond pattern with flower motifs. On both side brass handles. Made i...

Rare collection of 5 antique ceramic tobacco jars/humidors. 1. Hand-painted cermic tobacco jar, marked underside illegible and numbered 8100, man with cap with inscription 'Polin' ...

19th century French silver snuff box Late 19th century silver snuffbox with engraved centre and gilt interior Hall marked by the Silversmith, Dubois Leon & Bauve Henri The Dutch...

France / 1900 / sewing box / wood, fabric / Art Deco / Mid-century / Vintage Elegant wooden box with sculpted roses and red velvet top. Crafted around 1900 in France. This timeles...

18th century papier-mâché small snuff box A black lacquered papier-mâché snuff box with a silver inlaid encircled zig zag motif around a medallion with a scene of the Last Supper painted with Jesus and the 12 apostles...

Silver enameled box by Rudolf Steiner, 1899 with a miniature painting An octagonal Austrian silver white enameled, inside gold-plated box made by Ru...

Amazing French antique 19th century Napoleon III Jewelry box made from Burl Wood. What an amazing look this polished burl wood made with high quality craftsmanship This jewelry b...

Clever designs and perfect condition pair of antique jewelry boxes with curved tops + photo frame with curved front. The burl or burr nutwood that was used to create these two stunn...

Marvelous Napoleon III 19th century antique Jewelry box in Burl wood from France. Impressive wood grain with slight curved edge on t...

Antique tramp art box, jewelry box or trinket box, called a trinket box, lined with wallpaper, made in France around 1900. A beautiful form of folk art, anyone could make a tramp ar...

On offer here is an elegant English mahogany writing box dating back to the late 19th century, around 1880. The box, with gently rounded upper corners, was crafted from solid pine wood and then veneered with rich mahogany. At the center of the lid, there is an inlaid oval piece of mother-of-pearl, complemented by a matching mother-of-pearl escutcheon surrounding the keyhole. The box retains its original hinges, locks, and key, all in excellent working condition. When opened, this sophisticated writing box reveals a sloped leather writing surface, crafted from green-dyed sheepskin leather and adorned with a decorative gold-leaf border. The writing surface folds open on both sides, offering hidden storage space beneath for letters and documents. This writing box has been gently cleaned in our workshop, ensuring it is pristine, complete, and fully functional—a timeless piece of craftsmanship ready to be admired and used. An English mahogany writing box, also known as a writing slope or lap desk, has a rich history dating back to the 18th century. These portable writing desks were essential for both personal and professional use, especially during a time when travel and correspondence were becoming increasingly important. Initially, writing boxes were made from oak and often featured intricate carvings. However, by the late 18th century, mahogany became the preferred material due to its durability and attractive appearance[1]. These boxes were designed to be both functional and stylish, often featuring brass fittings, secret...

Brass walnut shaped nut cracker , 1970’s

Swedish antique pine and birch wooden storage box. The lady’s got them to store there small goods at the wedding. Fine quality of bentwood. It is a true piece from the early 19 cen...

A beautiful vintage tea caddy, made by the French brand Elie Bleu Paris. The box is made of beautifully veneered / greened wood with black piping. Th...

Lovely Art Deco small box designed by Curt Schlevogt. Model Sunflower.

Beautiful antique game box from the French Napoleon III period. The box is made of book veneer match, inlaid with brass trims. This box shows the fine craftsmanship of the ebenist wh...

La balayeuse du Sacré-Coeur (The sweeper of the Sacred Heart) by Line Vautrin, gilt bronze box. Generously sized gilt bronze box. The lid chiselled with a decoration of a multitude o...

Line Vautrin was inspired by the Armenian alphabet to create this very pretty compact whose lid and reverse are entirely carved with the characters o...

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...

Austrian Tortoise shell Silver box Austrian Tortoise shell Silver box in the shape of an envelope with a flap. The flap is with a spring. The box is marked with the Austrian Silve...

Beautiful antique writing slope case. The chest is veneered with Macassar wood. Decorated with silver mounts. The interior is made of birdseed maple...

Good quality and excellent condition antique box. This straight lined cigar box is another one of our timeless items that will also make a great gift for someone who has never owned...

Swedish antique pine and birch hand painted wooden barrel. Made to be used as a washing basin. Fine quality of bentwood. It is a true piece from the early 19 century. Beautiful patin...

An exceptional Indo-Portuguese colonial mother-of-pearl veneered casket with silver mounts India, Gujarat, 2nd half of the 16th century, the silver mounts Goa or probably Lisbon Measures: H. 16 x W. 24.6 x D. 16.1 cm An exceptional Gujarati casket with a rectangular box and truncated pyramidal lid (with slopes on each side and a flat top) made from exotic wood, probably teak (Tectona grandis), covered with a mother-of-pearl mosaic. The tesserae, cut from the shell of the green turban sea snail (Turbo marmoratus, a marine gastropod) in the shape of fish scales, are pinned to the wooden structure with silver ball-headed nails. The casket is set on bracket feet on the corners. The masterfully engraved decoration of the silver mounts follows the most refined and erudite Mannerist repertoire of rinceaux and ferroneries dating from the mid-16th century. The high quality and refinement of the silver mounts and, likewise, the silver nails that replaced the original brass pins used to hold the mother-of-pearl tesserae in place indicate the work of a silversmith probably working in Lisbon in the second half of the 16th century. The Indian origin of this production, namely from Cambay (Khambhat) and Surat in the present state of Gujarat in north India, is, as for the last three decades, consensual and fully demonstrated, not only by documentary and literary evidence - such as descriptions, travelogues and contemporary archival documentation - but also by the survival in situ of 16th-century wooden structures covered in mother-of-pearl tesserae. A fine example is a canopy decorating the tomb (dargah) of the Sufi saint, Sheik Salim Chisti (1478-1572) in Fatehpur Sikri in Agra district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, north India. This is an artistic production, geometric in character and Islamic in nature, where usually the mother-of-pearl tesserae form complex designs of fish scales or, similar to the dishes also made using the same technique, with the thin brass sheets and pins, stylized lotus flowers. The truncated pyramidal shape corresponds, like their contemporary tortoiseshell counterparts also made in Gujarat, to a piece of furniture used in the Indian subcontinent within the Islamic world prior to the arrival of the first Portuguese. This shape, in fact, is very old and peculiar to East-Asian caskets, chests or boxes used to contain and protect Buddhist texts, the sutras. A similar chest is the famous and large reliquary chest from Lisbon cathedral that once contained the relics of the city's patron saint, Saint Vincent. Both match in shape, having the same kind of socle or pedestal and bracket feet, and in their engraved silver mountings, featuring the same type of refined, erudite decoration. Their differences lie in the silver borders that frame the entire length of the edges of the chest (both the box and the lid), pinned with silver nails, and on the lock plate, shaped like a coat of arms in the Lisbon example. Given the exceptional dimensions of the reliquary casket...

Lovely 19th c Antique Meiji Period Japanese Lacquer box. Additional information: Material: Lacquer Region of Origin: Japan Period: 19th century, 20th century Japan Dynasty Period: M...

EEarly and exceptional music box by Ducommun Girod with "exposed contols" Ducommun Girod was one of the first manufacturers of music boxes early in the 19th century. He is known for...

Highly detailed quadruple plated silver cigar humidor, with repoussé floral motif. Rectangular heavy box with two figural hunting dogs in bronze on the hinged lid. Inside two comp...

Silver black enameled box by Leo Wagner, 1921-1922 An octagonal Austrian (Vienna) silver black enameled with a gold-plated interior box made by Le...

Beautiful Singing Bird by Karl Griesbaum A unique masterpiece from the 1950s or 1960s, crafted by the renowned Karl Griesbaum in Germany. When activated, a bird elegantly emerges, ...

A wooden box with polychrome and gilded "pastiglia" relief decor. Italy, XV century, decorated with scenes from the life of a martyr. Length: 15.5 x 10.4 x 9 cm. Provenance: Dutch private collection Overall in good condition for its age, some small defects to the decor and possibly some retouching to the polychromy, ball feet presumably of later date. Pastiglia [paˈstiʎʎa], an Italian term meaning "pastework", is low relief decoration, normally modelled in gesso or white lead, applied to build up a surface that may then be gilded or painted, or left plain. The technique was used in a variety of ways in Italy during the Renaissance. White lead pastiglia was a north Italian speciality, produced between about 1450 and 1550. Six workshops were identified by Patrick M. De Winter, although their location remains uncertain; the Workshop of the Love and Moral Themes, whose products seem the most numerous, was possibly at Ferrara, where the painter Cosimo Tura began his career gilding caskets. Venice is also thought to have produced them. Other workshops identified by De Winter include the "Workshop of the main Berlin casket" and "Workshop of the Cleveland Casket". The subjects were typically classical, drawn from both mythology and Ancient Roman history (especially the early period covered by Livy), but biblical ones are also found. Compositions can often be shown to be borrowed from another medium, such as prints or bronze plaquettes...

India, probably made in Gujarat for Portuguese Goa, late 17th/early 18th century The tortoiseshell laid over gold foil, and the interior with red lacquer and possibly later added re...

Good quality antique box with Roman scenes on all four sides and on top. If you are a collector or enthousiast of anything to do with emperial Rome then this rare, meaningful and hi...

Beautiful antique wooden game box from the French Napoleon III period. The wood is inlaid with a brass emblem and brass piping, this gold color contr...

Belgium / 1930 / tin can / tin / Art Deco / Mid-century / Vintage An adorable egg shaped Easter tin can by Cote d'Or with a bunny walking with 2 chicks in the cart. Made in England ...

So very rare this standing sewing box. Early design by Cees Braakman all Wood in primary colors. 4 boxes. Typical Holland 1950s This piece is still all original.

1927 Gelas Double-Table Mandolin, Numbered (5947) and Stamped: An Exceptional Collector's Piece. - Visual Characteristics: • Soundboard View: o Shape: The mandolin exhibits a ch...

Introducing the epitome of sophistication: the Italian Mid Century Modern Jatoba Wood and Floral Decorated Silver Plated Cigarette Box by Ottaviani. Crafted with utmost precision and...

Antique Silver-plated Biscuit Box ,By Armand Fresnais, Art Nouveau Hand-Painted Glass , France 1877-1927 A gorgeous Art Nouveau cake container/ biscuit box. Thick, hand-painted glas...

Rare and very decorative singing bird automaton. Made in de 4th quarter of the 19th century by Bontems in Paris (France). This top quality singing bird has a wooden gilded base to ...

An antique decorative lidded box with a bronze dog. The base made of wood, with onyx paneled against it, which is framed with floral ornate copper rims. The...

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

Porcelain casket on legs from Weimar Manufactory. 1970s. Germany. The box is almost like a woman's handbag – you open it and you can get lost in e...

Beautiful feathered walnut, brass bound, vanity box by the famous makers “Betjemann & Sons” of London. This vanity box has several compartments and the attention to detail is fabulou...

Batavia (Jakarta), 19th century, apparently unmarked H. 5 x W. 18 x D. 13 cm Before settling down to business in the former Dutch East Indies, sirih had to be offered in the most e...

A refined French lidded box, embelished all around with floral motifs in Black Forest style. Made of casted bronze with the original brown patina finish. The box is marked, L. Oudry & Cie. With key, lock is not working. Léopold Oudry...

Arts & Crafts Wine Cave with Decorative Metal Work, circa 1920s Box from the Arts & Crafts period, Made in France A very special item with decorative metal work on top. Definitely o...

A beautiful antique decorative Napoleon III wooden box. Beautifully decorated with copper and bronze elements and round cut stones cut (tiger eye). The box is made of black lacquered...

La Sirène au Bateau (The mermaid with the boat) by Line Vautrin – Silvered bronze box La Sirène au Bateau (The mermaid with the boat) by Line Vautrin, silvered bronze box. Silvered bronze box whose lid is decorated with a Mermaid carrying a boat at arm’s length. This rare box, icon of the artist’s work, presents a very important thickness. The inside of the box and lid lined with cork. The bronze boxes made by Line Vautrin are true works of art that combine the elegance of design and mastery of craftsmanship. Line Vautrin, a famous French artist and designer of the 20th century, specialized in the manufacture of jewelery and decorative bronze objects...

Arts & Crafts Wine Cave with Decorative Metal Work, circa 1920s Box from the Arts & Crafts period, Made in France A very special item with decorative metal work on top. Definitely o...

A silver box with Guilloche, Industria Argentina A silver box with wooden interior. The box is decorated with guilloche pattern. Silver 925 (purity 925/1000) and marked with Indus...

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...

Dutch silver pill box, 1869 A Dutch silver small cartouche-shaped pill box with engraved floral decor on the lid. The silver box has a hinged lid. The box is Dutch silver hallmarked...

A cobalt blue and gold leaf porcelain box with gilt metal mounts and a decoration of fencers on the lid. Hand painted and marked inside the lid. 7.2 x 12.7 cm, height 4.7 cm.

Leather trunk Spanish, 17th century Boiled Leather, wood and iron Measures: 22 x 53 x 32 cm. Provenance : - collection Metz-Noblat, Château de Clevant, France Rectangular trunk of the form and size of a small suitcase with wrought iron hinges and lock-plate. Wood, covered with leather, cut and embossed with every surface of the thick cow hide covered in interlace, zoomorphic features. The construction method is boiled leather, often referred to by its French translation cuir-bouilli: a process used to change flexible, vegetable-tanned leather into rigid, moulded objects. For shaping of the vegetable-tanned leather, heat and moisture were used, as indicated by the term boiled leather. No written medieval sources describing the production of decorated cuir bouilli objects survive, so knowledge of the process relies on the important studies of the Scottish leather historian John William Waterer. A large range of methods, materials and techniques could be used in various combinations. The vegetable-tanned leather, made supple with moisture and heat, was stuffed, shaped and nailed to the rigid wooden coffer support. The stuffing material was probably modeled beeswax or stearin wax. To shape the leather, to create its topography, « Cushions » were made by lacing a thread through an awl hole and attaching the flexible leather and stuffing to the rigid wooden support on the bottom. Then the decoration was done: lines were incised through the upper layer of the leather (epidermis) with different thicknesses of knives or needles. Contours were created with deep v-shaped cuts, decoration with thin incision and final details with a needle point. For the incision and pouncing stage, the leather was probably kept heated and moistened for suppleness. Once dry, the leather would be hard and rigid. the saturated leather is worked over a form, possibly even damp sand, with the pattern shaped using bone or wooden tools. Compare to metal, leather was lighter and it offered protection from cuts and punctures. Cuir bouilli objects were produced by specialist leather workers and needed skillful craftsmanship. The surface is filled with roundels shaped foliages enclosing animals, lions and peacocks. The foliate arabesques creating a vegetal connection tweet the animals create the impression of a lush verdant space . The vegetal pattern here employed in combination with geometrical pattern came from the pre-islamic artistic traditions of the Byzantine and Sasanian empires. An aspect of Islamic geometry Is the basic symmetrical repetition and mirroring of the shapes that create a sense of harmony. The decoration of this truck is inspired by the islamic « arabesque » a form of vegetal ornament composed of spirals, intertwining plants and abstract curvilinear motifs. An arabesque character is given to the birds of the decorations through extreme stylisation. This arabesque maintained the classical tradition of median symmetry, freedom in Detail and heterogeneity of ornament. The presence of the peacocks is a paradisiacal allusion: in popular Islamic literature they were among the original inhabitants of the garden of Paradise expelled with Adam and Eve. Peacock as a decorative motif may have originated in the West, despite their eastern provenance. There was an ancient belief that the flesh and feathers of peacock do not decay. This led to the peacock becoming a christian symbol for Christ’s resurrection. Renowned for their decorative wall hangings, seventeenth-century Spanish leatherworkers also produced utilitarian objects, such as this trunk. A similar trunk is on display at the Metropolitan museum of art ( 09.158.1). Related literature : Davies L. 2006. Cuir bouilli. Conservation of leather and related materials, 94-102, Oxford: elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann Grabar, Oleg. The Mediation of Ornament. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992 Gabriela Germana Roquez, "El mueble en el Peru en el siglo XVIII...

A beautiful square Guilloche Silver jewelery box by Emil Brenk A silver box with guilloche and an oval enamel plaque with scene of a romantic coup...