South Asian Decorative Boxes

Turn of the century wooden Kashmir box. Hand painted with a striking black bird in the center surrounded by red and black accented leaves.

Contemporary Indian black allover ball shape design lidded resin box. Part of a large collection.

The dense carving of this 19th century South Indian sandalwood jewellery box is so lively and animated.

This is an antique Campaign correspondence box. An Anglo-Indian, teak and brass bound Colonial traveller's writing case, dating to the late Victorian period, circa 1880. Captivati...

This exquisite antique box from 19th century India is a true treasure with its rich patina and traces of green paint. The brass studs add a real touch making it a genuine statement p...

An anglo Indian workbox made of ebony. The tray lifts up from the box on the lid which is also inlaid in ivory and ebony and has a bone round disc that is signed New Bedford 1810. Th...

Fabulous and large rosewood and teak fitted letter writing box with brass inlay. Numerous cubbies with lids for various items. Slotted back panel fo...

Saffron Tissue Box White Large in Lacquer Wood & Brass, Viya By Vikram Goyal With moniker’s such as red gold, exquisite thread or golden light, saffron captivates us all. Ancient Ro...

19th century Anglo-Indian hand carved tropical wood box.

Paw Jar is a delightful object from the Forest collection. It has intricate brass and resin inlay in blue and pink, with an endearing leafy lid. For his debut creations, Marcanton...

Antique Anglo-Indian quill box handcrafted and decorated with porcupine quills and bone dots. Made in Ceylon which was the colonial name for Sri Lanka. Porcupine quillwork objects of...

19th century metamorphic camphor writing slope circa 1890. Here we have a fine quality campaign tambour table top desk made in camphor wood. Many features to this brass bound desk....

Collection of 19th century Kashmiri items A highly decorative collection of 19th Century hand crafted Kashmiri objects including 6 different shaped boxes, a working lamp and urn....

Anglo Raj inlaid marble pietra dura decorative box with lid. Handmade marble decorative lidded box inlaid with semi precious stones, jasper and carnelian for orange. It is the same craft that you see in the Taj Mahal. Very nice fine pietra dura art...

Nice Indian box in green lacquered wood dating from the end of the 20th century. It is decorated with delicate gold, black and green pattern.

A large Indian Colonial ‘Vizagapatam’ pen-engraved bone inlaid ebony box Masulipatnam or Vizagapatam, 2nd half 18th century H. 10.8 x W. 47 x D. 34 cm ...

Fine antique Anglo-Indian hand carved wooden jewelry box inlaid. A Nice Mughal Anglo Indian Pen Box 19th Century The box with a Mughal I...

A beautiful colorful decorative box with lid created from Carrara marble and inlaid with a variety of semi-precious stones. The sides are inlaid with a variety of stones in abstract ...

Vizagapatam box, India, 19th century. This highly decorative and unusual Anglo-Indian table box features rustic workmanship that adds to the character and charm of this unique Sout...

Intended to hold paan or betel, the seamed cylindrical body flaring downward towards the base, the domed lid showing a lotus-bud final over a flattened and canted rim, both decorated...

Fabulous Indian box made of bone and pierced brass with a wood bottom.A very nice design. Turn of the century, India.

Anglo-Indian inlaid box with elephant motif (circa 1920s). Dimensions: 14"H x 19.5"W x 13"D.

This box is wonderful. Colors are great orange, green, and gold. From Kashmir, India circa 1915 maybe earlier.

A 19th century small Indian dowry box on wheels with fitted compartments. The door at the top that slides to the side. The fitted interior has a small...

A MUGHAL INDIAN BRASS ENGRAVED BETEL PANDAN BOX Northern India. 18th Century. Length: 4 1/4" in. (10.9 cm.), width: 3 1/4" in., (8.3 cm.), height: 2" in.,...

Standout exotic Anglo Indian lidded box handcrafted in mahogany and clad in tortoise shell with applied lacy bone designs inscribed and painted with flowers. The interior has a mirro...

VERY DECORATIVE VIZAGAPATAM BOX Vizagapatam, India, 19th Century. Rustic workmanship will only add to the decorative appeal of this Anglo-Indian footed domed casket in ebonized woo...

Exquisite Indian craftsmanship made of teak with a patinated surface and extraordinary intricate Brass work. Made during the latter part of the Mughal Empire, Southern India circa 1780

A hand painted papier mâché square box with stripes on the sides and flowers on the top. It is signed Kashmir. Circa 1960s.

Richly carved hardwood Indian box for storage of fans in a fine quality Late 19th century length 38 cm, width 6.5 and 12.5 cm, height 7 cm Aged patina

A round wooden box from India. Might be some type of exotic rosewood. Circa 1920s, maybe a little earlier. Box with six ivory dots on lid, ivory feet and finial.

Contemporary India white camel bone box. Rectangular shaped tiles with slightly raised pyramid shaped top.

Celestial Tissue Box Black Large in Lacquer Wood & Brass, Viya By Vikram Goyal Whether it’s the dense, intricate patterns of clouds on the walls of the Badal Mahal, Rajasthan or the...

Log Jar, an usual object from the Forest collection, has intricate brass and resin inlay to resemble a log of wood, with a cute boney lid. For his debut creations, Marcantonio int...

Made in India - Extraordinary Craftsmanship Reticulated and originally silver plated. Circa 1820

Labradorite semiprecious stone box with hinged lid. Labradorite displays an iridescent optical effect (or schiller) known as labradorescence. La...

Indian teak work or stationary box with brass tack and applique decoration on the top and sides and fitted with brass lift-handles. the interior fitted with lift out trays and open c...

Unusual coco de mer tea caddy crafted with a double lobe nut found on the Seychelles Islands, it is said to have mystical properties. Featuring malachite f...

Very decorative hand painted in the Anglo-Indian style. Painted back and gold with each framed panel filled with female dancers and male flower bearing suiters. A colorful and fun, a...

Elegant and finely crafted rosewood and ivory inlay traveller's writing desk from the late Mughal period of British India (circa 1825), on low bun feet. In excellent condition, with ...

Hand tooled cast metal incense stick holder in a Snail Shaped form. Vintage cast brass incense burner holder. A censer, incense burner, perfume ...

This is an antique patinated bronze sculpture of a stylized form peacock. Used as a betel box or tobacco opium box. Produced using the traditional 'lost wax'...

Decorative Box for Cigarettes in wood brown color India

This seemingly simple wooden vase is a design object of infinite beauty and elegance that can be placed in either an antique or a modern or contemporary setting. They are Indian arte...

Indian "Bombay" dresser/jewelry box with a mirror in the lid and raised on a "tray" base with silvered feet. The exterior with exotic wood and sadeli work (micro-mosaic inlay) framin...

Presenting an absolutely fantastic 19C Anglo Ceylonese lap desk of museum quality. We can safely say that this is one of the finest lap desks we hav...

Vintage South Asian / Kashmir hand painted papier mâché box with removeable lid - featuring a profuse floral pattern over the top and sides set against a black lacquer background - h...

Vintage South Asian hand painted wooden box with removeable lid - featuring a full length portrait of an Indian woman in a pink sari to the lid...

Another stunning 19th century Anglo-Ceylonese piece. Made circa 1880 in Ceylon (Now Sri Lanka) of Coromandel wood and specimen woods. This is a simply gorgeous and quality item!! Tray made of various compartments with various high quality specimen wood lids, all edged and banded in chevrons of bone, silver or pewter and ebony. The tray itself is made of expensive coromandel wood. There are two open sections on either side of the tray which have bone and hand-painted lac ends. The main tray sits onto a base made of coromandel wood with green baize lining. This tray could have a number of practical uses, for keeping stationary, watches, jewelry, or thinking outside of the box, holding you remote controls and candy!! We have a matching box also in our Inventory and for auction. ANGLO-INDIAN AND CEYLONESE BOXES: 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. Anglo-indian Boxes normally consist of 3 main types:- (1) Most of the best and highest quality Anglo-Indian boxes in the 18th and 19th Centuries were made in Vizagapatam, India, renowned for its exquisite craftsmanship in using ivory and tortoiseshell and lac decoration. These are referred to as ‘Vizagapatam Boxes...

Decorative Mughal Raj Vizagapatam Carved Veneered Bone Jewelry Rectangular shape Box. Vintage Asian lidded box crafted with bone finely engraved and hand painted in black with geometric Moorish designs. Delightful Anglo Indian footed box crafted with an intricate patterned polished bone inlay mosaic over a wood frame. Handmade in Vizagapatam, India, mid 20th century. Elegant intricate pattern. A true work of Islamic artwork...

Rare 19th Century Kashmir Hand Painted Inkwell and Boxes Set A highly decorative and rare example of a late 19th Century hand painted Kashmir inkwell and boxes set. Size: (inkwel...

PRESENTING A LOVELY 19C Anglo Indian Highly Carved Sadeli Mosaic Inlaid Sewing Box. Made in Bombay, India, circa 1880. The box is made of sandalwood with highly carved raised teak wood panels on all sides, depicting temple scenes, animals and foliage. The box is in a sarcophagus form. It is edged in bone (and we can tell it is bone and not ivory, from the color and evidence of capillaries, which are not found in ivory), and banded with Bombay Sadeli mosaic and ebony veneer. The lid opens to reveal a removable tray with various open compartments and lidded compartments. 5 lidded compartments, 1 unlidded compartment and 8 holders for thimbles, etc The tray lifts to reveal a blue velvet (original) lined section, for storing jewelry etc, with sections for collars etc. The inside of the lid has a removable mirror (the mirror is missing on this one but can easily be replaced). Behind the mirror is the original green velvet lining. It has its original brass carry handles on the sides and sits on 4 silvered button feet (of recent origin). Some repairs to the exterior and condition issues (priced accordingly), but still a LOVELY COLLECTIBLE box! These boxes were made by superb Indian craftsmen, specifically for sale to the ruling British elite. These types of boxes, carved padouk and sandalwood, (whilst beautiful and superbly crafted) were of a lesser quality, than the more profusely and intricately mosaic inlay, tortoiseshell and ivory boxes, made for the British ‘Upper Classes’ in the areas of Bombay and Vizagapatam. These type of boxes were much more affordable back in 1880 (and indeed today) and would probably have been bought by mid-level diplomats, civil servants or visitors. Sewing boxes (in general), were in EVERY Victorian home in Britain in the 19th century and like other boxes etc were ‘status symbols’ of your place in society! The more ornate the box, the more ‘Upper Class’ you were! 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...

An Indian rustic wooden box from the 19th century, with nicely weathered appearance, iron details and incised motifs. Created in India during the 1...

An Indian rustic wooden box from the 19th century, with nicely weathered appearance, iron details and incised motifs. Created in India during the 1...

PRESENTING A VERY NICE 19C Anglo Indian Highly Carved Teak and Sandalwood Sarcophagus Sewing Box. Made in Bombay, India circa 1890-1900. The box case/body is made of sandalwood wit...

1980s green carved soapstone decorative box. Carved elephant motif across the lid of the box. No makers mark or signature.

19th Century Hand Painted Kashmiri Vessel A stylish late 19th Century hand painted Kashmiri vessel. Covered in intricate painted flowers a...

Handcarved wooden trinket box with carved geometric shapes, small handmade ornamental indentations and cream white decor on the lid. Rustic organic ...

A charming vintage Kashmiri heart-shaped paper mâché box, exquisitely hand-painted with vibrant floral decorations. This piece exemplifies the traditio...

Striking pair of tessellated bone decorative boxes having wonderful unusual shape, black ink embellishments with birds and foliage against creamy beige and white background. Lids co...