Brussels - Boxes

Swedish antique pine and birch wooden storage box. . Fine quality of bentwood. It is a true piece from the 19 century. Initials are hand painted on the top 1865 and hand engraved und...

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 centu...

Swedish antique pine and birch wooden butter storage box . Fine quality of bentwood. It is a true piece from the early 19 century. Engraved with initials in top of the lid. Nice add...

small mother-of-pearl box

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 ...

Swedish antique pine hand crafted wooden barrel. Made to be used as a washing basin or a grain storage. Fine quality of bentwood. It is a true piece from the early 19 century. Beaut...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Amour roi de ton coeur (Love King of Your Heart) by Line Vautrin , Silver Bronze Box. Silver-plated bronze box with a lid enhanced with a decoration representing a two-tone wheel, th...

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...

Nice Wilhelm Kienzle tool box for MEWA, circa 1950, Switzertland. Yellow and grey lacquered metal. Black handle, black hammer and pliers patterns. Original good condition. Dimensi...

Swedish antique pine and birch wooden storage box. It was left with the natural wood who now have a charming patina. Fine quality of bentwood. It is a true piece from the early 19 ce...

Swedish antique pine and birch wooden storage box. It was painted blue with black edges. Fine quality of bentwood. It is a true piece from the early 19 century. More units could be f...

Swedish antique pine and birch wooden basket. It was left with the natural wood who now have a charming patina. Fine quality of bentwood. It is a true piece from the early 19 century...

Nice Odette Dijeux mid-century decorative box, circa 1950, Belgium. White and brown enameled ceramic. Signed underneath Odette Dijeux . Each piece of this artist is unique and po...

Dutch Tobacco Jar Netherlands, 19th century 23 x 15 cm Georgian Dutch Tobacco Jar. Made from different woods, this ring turned Jars show a very nice patina.

Very beautiful one of a kind silver plated metal box with fine diamond point patterns. Handcrafted and high quality metal work. The box is very heavy. Made on a special request, circa 1970, by Maison...

Dutch Tobacco Jar Hollande, 19th century H 18 x diameter 12 cm Fine Georgian Dutch Tobacco Jar with beautiful patina.

Russian Carved bone table box Carved bone table box North of Russia, 18th century 12,5 x 23,2 x 7 cm Rectangular box with a wooden core in bone veneer...

Box by Fontana Arte, Wood and Glass, 1940s

Turned, engraved and openwork box Fruit wood Florence, 17th century Measures: Diameter 11cm Height 4.4cm.  

Swedish antique pine hand build wooden kitchen cabinet. Made to be used as a dough plater storage to the left side and a storage to the right side. Fine quality of wood. It is a true...

Swedish antique pine and birch wooden butter storage box . Fine quality of bentwood. It is a true piece from the early 19 century. Hand graved 1882 inside the lid. Nice addition in...

Mid-Century Modern Ice Bucket by Aldo Tura, circa 1960, Italy.

Large Liberty Wooden box, Wood and Mother of Pearl, Italy, 1900s

Swedish antique pine hand carved wooden barrel. Made to be used as a grain storage. Fine quality of wood. It is a true piece from the early 19 century. Beautiful patina on the inside...

Swedish antique pine and birch wooden butter storage box . Fine quality of bentwood. It is a true piece from the early 19 century. Painted blue and faded trough time. Nice addition...

Swedish antique pine and birch wooden backpack storage box. It was use to pickup the berries in the woods. Fine quality of birch bentwood. It is a true piece from the early 19 centur...

Lovely 19th century burl walnut tea box from England. Very beautiful box with a beautiful brass decoration on its front and top. Superb pati...

Mid-Century Modern Brass and Exotic Wood Playing Card Box

Rare and original metal Boxe by Piero Fornasetti from 50's, decorated with pipes, with the original package. in very good and original condition, used for matches, cigarettes jewelry...

Mid-Century Modern Little Marquetry Boxes