Coral Decorative Boxes

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...

Mother of pearl tessellated box attributed to Maitland-Smith. Mother of pearl veneer in very pale green color over wood box. Black felt underside. Made in Philippines sticker on the ...

Elizabeth II sterling silver box. Made by Padgett & Braham Ltd in London in 1963. Rectangular with straight sides. Cover hinged with gently curved top and tapering tab. Interior ceda...

This is a beautifully crafted Art Deco period Sterling Silver Lady's Compact or necessaire. This stunning engraved and monogrammed compact opens to reveal a sterling silver interior with fittings for two different types of coins and a covered powder dispenser...

A very beautiful and substantial green Malachite decorative or jewelry box, circa late-20th century. This green Malachite box has a hexagon shape with a white onyx marble star with gold gilt detail on top lid. A great decorative piece or jewelry box (as demonstrated), to hold necklaces, rings, earring, cufflinks, etc., on a vanity, nightstand, dresser, desk, credenza, walk-in-closet, etc. Very good condition as shown in images. No chips noted. Dimensions: 3.38" Depth x 4" Width. Purple charoite box shown also available, search 1stDibs ref. #: LU1314228491742 Green malachite box with cameo, search ref. #: LU1314228492012 (SOLD) Small gold and malachite turtle...

1950s Moorish Spain Music Box: This exquisite handcrafted box, made in Granada, Spain, showcases the intricate art of Islamic Moorish marquetry. The ...

Large Vintage Maitland-Smith Mother of Pearl Box. The top inlaid with a strip of brass. The box sits on top of round ball feet.

A hand-crafted abalone seashell and alpaca metal pill box, circa 1960s, mid-20th century, Mexico. Box is rectangle with a beautiful iridescent abalone seashell top; top is hinged wit...

A hand-crafted abalone seashell and alpaca metal pill box, circa 1960s, mid-20th century, Mexico. Box is oval with a beautiful iridescent abalone seashell top; top is hinged with fro...

An antique French opaline glass casket box in a striking pale turquoise or Robin's Egg Blue color. The polished glass is mounted with finely detailed gold bronze hardware, adding ele...

Large and heavy sterling silver desk box. Made by Tiffany in New York. Rectangular with straight sides. Cover flat and hinged with molded rim. Box interior cedar lined and partitione...

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...