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Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

ART NOUVEAU STYLE

In its sinuous lines and flamboyant curves inspired by the natural world, antique Art Nouveau furniture reflects a desire for freedom from the stuffy social and artistic strictures of the Victorian era. The Art Nouveau movement developed in the decorative arts in France and Britain in the early 1880s and quickly became a dominant aesthetic style in Western Europe and the United States.

ORIGINS OF ART NOUVEAU FURNITURE DESIGN

CHARACTERISTICS OF ART NOUVEAU FURNITURE DESIGN

  • Sinuous, organic and flowing lines
  • Forms that mimic flowers and plant life
  • Decorative inlays and ornate carvings of natural-world motifs such as insects and animals 
  • Use of hardwoods such as oak, mahogany and rosewood

ART NOUVEAU FURNITURE DESIGNERS TO KNOW

ANTIQUE ART NOUVEAU FURNITURE ON 1STDIBS

Art Nouveau — which spanned furniture, architecture, jewelry and graphic design — can be easily identified by its lush, flowing forms suggested by flowers and plants, as well as the lissome tendrils of sea life. Although Art Deco and Art Nouveau were both in the forefront of turn-of-the-20th-century design, they are very different styles — Art Deco is marked by bold, geometric shapes while Art Nouveau incorporates dreamlike, floral motifs. The latter’s signature motif is the "whiplash" curve — a deep, narrow, dynamic parabola that appears as an element in everything from chair arms to cabinetry and mirror frames.

The visual vocabulary of Art Nouveau was particularly influenced by the soft colors and abstract images of nature seen in Japanese art prints, which arrived in large numbers in the West after open trade was forced upon Japan in the 1860s. Impressionist artists were moved by the artistic tradition of Japanese woodblock printmaking, and Japonisme — a term used to describe the appetite for Japanese art and culture in Europe at the time — greatly informed Art Nouveau. 

The Art Nouveau style quickly reached a wide audience in Europe via advertising posters, book covers, illustrations and other work by such artists as Aubrey Beardsley, Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec and Alphonse Mucha. While all Art Nouveau designs share common formal elements, different countries and regions produced their own variants.

In Scotland, the architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh developed a singular, restrained look based on scale rather than ornament; a style best known from his narrow chairs with exceedingly tall backs, designed for Glasgow tea rooms. Meanwhile in France, Hector Guimard — whose iconic 1896 entry arches for the Paris Metro are still in use — and Louis Majorelle produced chairs, desks, bed frames and cabinets with sweeping lines and rich veneers. 

The Art Nouveau movement was known as Jugendstil ("Youth Style") in Germany, and in Austria the designers of the Vienna Secession group — notably Koloman Moser, Josef Hoffmann and Joseph Maria Olbrich — produced a relatively austere iteration of the Art Nouveau style, which mixed curving and geometric elements.

Art Nouveau revitalized all of the applied arts. Ceramists such as Ernest Chaplet and Edmond Lachenal created new forms covered in novel and rediscovered glazes that produced thick, foam-like finishes. Bold vases, bowls and lighting designs in acid-etched and marquetry cameo glass by Émile Gallé and the Daum Freres appeared in France, while in New York the glass workshop-cum-laboratory of Louis Comfort Tiffany — the core of what eventually became a multimedia decorative-arts manufactory called Tiffany Studios — brought out buoyant pieces in opalescent favrile glass. 

Jewelry design was revolutionized, as settings, for the first time, were emphasized as much as, or more than, gemstones. A favorite Art Nouveau jewelry motif was insects (think of Tiffany, in his famed Dragonflies glass lampshade).

Like a mayfly, Art Nouveau was short-lived. The sensuous, languorous style fell out of favor early in the 20th century, deemed perhaps too light and insubstantial for European tastes in the aftermath of World War I. But as the designs on 1stDibs demonstrate, Art Nouveau retains its power to fascinate and seduce.

There are ways to tastefully integrate a touch of Art Nouveau into even the most modern interior — browse an extraordinary collection of original antique Art Nouveau furniture on 1stDibs, which includes decorative objects, seating, tables, garden elements and more.

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Style: Art Nouveau
Pill Box Round, domed in Silver Sterling Enamel on a guilloche pattern Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Gold-Plated Sterling Silver and Enamel Pill Box with Floral Miniature by Romano Buccioni, Salimbeni, Florence, 1980 Exquisite shaped pill box in 925/1000 sterling silver, gold plate...
Category

1980s Italian Vintage Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel

Plique-À-Jour Enamel And Glass Box
Located in New Orleans, LA
Crafted entirely with an exceptionally detailed enamel technique known as pliqué-à-jour, this French box is a luxurious objet d'art. Exhibiting a subtle translucence like that of sta...
Category

20th Century French Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Enamel

GERMANY 1900 Orivit Jugendstil Covered Centerpiece In Gilded Bronze With Crystal
Located in Miami, FL
Jugendstil Covered Centerpiece designed by Orivit in Germany. This is a beautiful and very decorative covered centerpiece created in Germany during the art-nouveau Jugendstil period...
Category

Early 1900s German Antique Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Silver, Bronze

Metal Seashell Jewelry Box, France, Late 19th Century
Located in Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires
Metal seashell jewelry box. France, late 19th century. It has silk inside.
Category

Late 19th Century French Antique Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Metal

Antique English HMS Trefoil Ship Launching Presentation Casket
Located in Northampton, GB
Free Worldwide Shipping Profusely Carved Wooden Casket From our Boxes collection, we are pleased to offer this HMS Trefoil Ship Launching Presentation Casket. The Oak Casket of re...
Category

Early 20th Century British Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Oak, Boxwood

Marius-Ernest Sabino Three Swimming Mermaids Decorative Box
Located in Linkebeek, BE
Marius-Ernest Sabino, the sculptor who became a master glassmaker of Art Deco The year is 1878, Marius-Ernest Sabino was born in Sicily, in the town of Acierale (Italy). In 1882, his...
Category

20th Century French Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Art Glass

WMF Art Nouveau Germany Silver Plate Jewelery Box, 1900s
Located in Puglia, Puglia
Jewelery box, WMF - Germany, early 20th century Rectangular shape with scroll decorations, surmounted by a crown, internal fabric compartments, four curled feet, brand under the bas...
Category

Early 1900s German Antique Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Silver Plate

WMF Gilt and Painted Glass Covered Box
Located in Norwood, NJ
WMF Art Nouveau Germany painted glass and gilt dresser box, 1900s. An exceptional example of the WMF Art Nouveau workmanship, combining the gilt figural stylized handles, holding an ...
Category

1890s German Antique Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Metal

Box Model "Pine Needle" by Tiffany Co.
Located in Ciudad Autónoma Buenos Aires, C
Bronze box with white and orange glass paste, Pine Needle model, made by TIFFANY & Co, (1837 to the present). Signed Tiffany Studios, NEW YORK, 823. USA, circa 1910.
Category

20th Century American Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Bronze

Pillbox hand painted greyhound dog head on white background Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Oval pill box in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated with a fired enamelled miniature hand painted by the painter Romano Buccioni of a greyhound dog head on a white background. Engl...
Category

1980s Italian Vintage Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Gold Plate, Enamel, Sterling Silver

Evans Vintage 2 Sided Compact Purse in Goldtone
Located in Greer, SC
Vintage Evans 2 sided compact purse. Bottom compartment is for bills while the top section has the comb, powder and lipstick as well as a coin holder and mirror. In good used condi...
Category

Mid-20th Century North American Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Metal

Pill Box Sterling Silver Art Nouveau with floral miniature Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Gold-Plated Sterling Silver and Enamel Pill Box with Floral Miniature by Romano Buccioni for Salimbeni, Florence, 1980 Charming shaped pill box in 925/1000 sterling silver, gold pla...
Category

1980s Italian Vintage Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel

Round Favor Box with Lid in 925/1000 Sterling Silver Green Enamel Art Nouveau St
Located in Firenze, FI
Round favor box with lid in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated with translucent fired enamel on guillochè and hand-painted miniature of a bouquet of flowers in Art Nouveau style. B...
Category

1960s Italian Vintage Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Crystal, Sterling Silver, Enamel

Art Nouveau Silver Golfing Presentation Box Mounted with Medal
Located in Bishop s Stortford, Hertfordshire
A very fine quality Art Nouveau silver presentation box mounted with a golfing medallion by Henry Pope and with date marks for Birmingham 1897. The box is of rectangular form with a ...
Category

1890s British Antique Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Silver

AUSTRIAN 1915 Strawberry Shaped Enameled Pill Box In .900 Sterling Silver
Located in Miami, FL
An enameled strawberry shaped pill box made in Austria This is a gorgeous and amazing pill box created during the art-nouveau period in Austria between the 1910 and 1915. This box h...
Category

1910s Austrian Vintage Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Silver, Sterling Silver, Enamel

Lovely Hand Carved Wood Jewelry Box w. Stylized Kingfisher Bird Motive
Located in Bad Säckingen, DE
This exquisite hand-carved wooden jewelry box features a beautifully stylized depiction of a kingfisher bird. The octagonal box showcases intricate craftsmanship, with the bird motif...
Category

Early 1900s German Antique Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Wood

Cigarette Case hunting dog on point Enamel Sterling Silver Art Nouveau Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Franco Salimbeni Gold-Plated Sterling Silver and Enamel Cigarette Case with Hunting Dog Miniature by Romano Buccioni, Florence, 1976 Exquisite rectangular cigarette case with softl...
Category

1970s Italian Vintage Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel

Pill Box Round, domed in Silver Sterling Enamel on a guilloche pattern Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Giorgio Salimbeni Gold-Plated Sterling Silver and Enamel Pill Box with Miniature by Renato Buccioni, Florence, 1978 Exquisite round, domed pill box in 925/1000 sterling silver, gold...
Category

1970s Italian Vintage Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel

Vintage Le Tallec Enamel Decorated Gilt Porcelain Box Circa 1982 For Saks
Located in Atlanta, GA
This stunning vintage Le Tallec porcelain box, created circa 1982 exclusively for Saks Fifth Avenue, showcases Le Tallec's exceptional craftsmanship and refined design. The box is ri...
Category

Late 20th Century French Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Porcelain

Pill Box Fired Enamel with Hand Painted Horse Head Sterling Silver Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Rounded square pill box in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated with white fired enamel, above and below, with hand painted horse head. Dimensions cm. 5.2 x 5.2 x 2.3. Weight gr. 117. Designed by Franco Salimbeni in 1966 on the inspiration of previous artefacts made in the English Art Nouveau style of the early 1900s and manufactured in the Salimbeni company headquarters in Florence in numerous specimens also with different subjects, with completely manual execution by artisan artists with a slab of high thickness suitable for supporting numerous enamelled firings at around 800°C. Miniature is a very ancient technique which consists of painting works in small proportions. It was born for the decoration of the first letter of the paragraph of the books. Over the years, however, this technique is refined and enriched, then moving on to precious personal items. Hand-painted miniatures can be done with multiple different techniques. The most important that we use on our articles are of three kinds: 1) Fire enamel. 2) Water tempera on an ivory plate. 3) Painted on mother-of-pearl. Fire enameled miniatures: On a first layer of enamel generally white or very clear or even transparent suitably liquefied at a temperature of about 750 ° C, the chosen subject is painted using miniature colors which are as many colored crystals, ground and reduced to a very fine, almost impalpable powder washed and purified in distilled water with the addition of small quantities of deoxidizing acids which, diluted with essential oils (usually essential oil of solder), can be mixed to form a palette of colors. With very fine sable hair brushes you draw the subject starting from the perimeter and then gradually adding various layers of color. It is necessary to carry out various firings very often so that the colors harden and are not absorbed by the underlying glaze as, during the subsequent firings at 750 ° C, during liquefaction, it would spread irremediably. Hence the need to form the painting a little at a time, cooking it numerous times. Therefore it is necessary to proceed with numerous retouching, often overlapping different colors that only the painter's experience knows. A beautiful miniature needs from 20 to over 50 firings and is finished when the painter deems he does not have to further intervene. Some colors must have darker tones than others because then, by superimposing the transparent enamel placed at the end of the miniature, they fade. This transparent layer, called “fondant” in jargon, must be smoothed and polished like all other translucent enamel colors. The miniatures with water tempera colors are painted on real...
Category

1960s Italian Vintage Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Sterling Silver

Antique French Art Nouveau Paper Powder Box "Poudre Lt Piver Pompeia"
Located in Hamburg, DE
Antique French Art Nouveau paper powder box "Poudre Lt Piver Pompeia" This is an extremely rare and stunning antique French Lt Piver Pompeia Powde...
Category

Late 19th Century French Antique Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Paper

Antique Art Nouveau Ceramic Box by Carl Sigmund Luber for Johann von Schwarz
Located in Bad Säckingen, DE
This exquisite antique Art Nouveau ceramic box, designed by Carl Sigmund Luber for Johann von Schwarz, showcases a charming pastoral scene on its li...
Category

Early 1900s German Antique Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Ceramic

Art Nouveau Box, Hand Painted, France Circa 1920
Located in Auribeau sur Siagne, FR
This box is in wood. It is Hand painted, in black and green, color. It has been made in France circa 1920.
Category

1920s French Vintage Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Wood

Art Nouveau Jacaranda Wood Casket
Located in Darmstadt, DE
Very beautiful small box from the time of Art Nouveau, made of jacaranda and brass inserts. The box is with interior division. In very good restored condition.
Category

Late 19th Century German Antique Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Jacaranda

Art Nouveau Jacaranda Wood Casket
Art Nouveau Jacaranda Wood Casket
$665 Sale Price
25% Off
Beautiful Lithographed Candy Cookie Tin Box Advertising Vintage Sweden, 1910s
Located in Nuernberg, DE
Large antique Swedish Cookie advertising tin. Beautiful decoration piece, nice addition to your kitchen or just to display in every room. Found at an estate sale in Stockholm, Sweden...
Category

1910s Swedish Vintage Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Tin

Box in Wood Art Nouveau France 1920, Signed
Located in Auribeau sur Siagne, FR
This box is signed by a French artist: L.Maire. It has been made around 1920 in France. Typical of the Art nouveau style. It is in an excellent condition.
Category

1920s French Vintage Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Wood

Rene Lalique Figurines et Voiles jewelry / decorative glass box with Lid.
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Beautiful glass lidded box introduced in 1929 by the well known artist Rene Lalique . Title Figurines et Voiles .Molded signature in bottom and molded mark MADE IN FRANCE .
Category

1920s French Vintage Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Glass

Art Nouveau Lithographed Candy Cookie Tin Box Advertising Vintage German, 1910s
Located in Nuernberg, DE
Large antique German cough drop candy advertising tin. Beautiful decoration piece, nice addition to your kitchen or just to display in every room.  
Category

1910s German Vintage Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Tin

Pillbox round fire enamel hand painted landscape miniature Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Round pillbox in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated with fire enamel and landscape miniature hand painted by the painter Renato Dainelli in Art Nouveau style. Dimensions diameter c...
Category

1970s Italian Vintage Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel

Round carved wooden box with its key - Beethoven profile medallion - 19th
Located in Beuzevillette, FR
Louis XVI style carved wooden jewelry treasure box. The wood is carved in relief with foliage decoration all around, and the profile of Beethoven is very nicely and finely carved on the lid, This profile in a circle and the play of colors and textures of the wood gives a medallion in the taste of the bronze work of Jean Bertrand Andrieu. The interior is in green silky fabric. La Boite is also in the style of T. Hingre's bronze work. Louis-Théophile Hingre (sometimes known as Théophile Hingre) is a sculptor, modeler and medal engraver. The wood of this pretty round box is beautifully and finely carved. Beethoven's profile like the scrolls are sculpted with great precision and delicacy. Ludwig von Beethoven is a German composer, pianist and conductor, born in Bonn on December 15 or 16, 1770 and died in Vienna on March 26, 1827 at the age of 56. The last great representative of Viennese classicism (after Gluck, Haydn and Mozart), Beethoven prepared the evolution towards romanticism in music and influenced Western...
Category

19th Century French Antique Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Wood

Art Nouveau Cherry Wood Casket
Located in Darmstadt, DE
Beautiful box / casket from the Art Nouveau period, made of cherry veneer on softwood body with brass side handles. In very good restored condition.
Category

Late 19th Century German Antique Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Brass

Art Nouveau Cherry Wood Casket
Art Nouveau Cherry Wood Casket
$1,312 Sale Price
20% Off
Art Nouveau tin can with small chicks 1920
Located in Meulebeke, BE
A tin box from the Art Nouveau period is a beautiful example of the artistic movement that flourished in Europe at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. The Art Nouv...
Category

1920s Belgian Vintage Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Tin

Jugendstil Sugar Bowl Brass and Glass Conbination, Around 1908
Located in Wien, AT
Jugendstil sugar bowl brass and glass conbination around 1908. Brass polished and stove enameled. Original glass.
Category

Early 1900s Austrian Antique Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Brass

Art Nouveau Walnut Wood Casket
Located in Darmstadt, DE
Beautiful box / casket from the Art Nouveau period, made of walnut veneer and solid wood. In very good restored condition.
Category

Late 19th Century German Antique Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Walnut

Art Nouveau Walnut Wood Casket
Art Nouveau Walnut Wood Casket
$921 Sale Price
20% Off
Art Nouveau Carved Wooden Box
Located in Queens, NY
Art Nouveau wood oblong shaped box with etched floral design.  
Category

20th Century Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Wood

Art Nouveau Walnut Wood Casket
Located in Darmstadt, DE
Beautiful box / casket from the Art Nouveau period, made of walnut veneer on a softwood body. The top edge is trimmed with maple and in the center of the lid is a very beautiful vene...
Category

Late 19th Century German Antique Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Maple, Walnut, Softwood

Art Nouveau Walnut Wood Casket
Art Nouveau Walnut Wood Casket
$836 Sale Price
20% Off
Art Nouveau jewelry box in sculpted wood, France ca. 1915
Located in Meulebeke, BE
France / 1900 / sewing box / wood / Art Deco / Art Nouveau An elegant jewelry box in sculpted wood. Crafted around 1900 in France. A beautiful box to keep your small treasures saf...
Category

1910s French Vintage Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Wood

Table Box hand-engraved wood grain with Coral Salimbeni.
Located in Firenze, FI
Table Box wood style and Coral is in 925/1000 sterling silver. Table Box wood style and Coral has transparent brown fired enamel over hand-engraved wood grain. Table Box wood style a...
Category

1970s Italian Vintage Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Sterling Silver, Enamel

Table Box portrait of Empress Eugenia de Montijo miniature Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
More than a kilo of sterling silver was needed to create this stunning rectangular tabletop box. Worked with the very complicated guilloche technique, it was then enamelled at high heat with translucent enamel to make the superb workmanship shine through. The fine rectangular miniature cm. 7.5 x 10.7 on vegetable ivory. The small masterpiece handmade by the painter Anna Maria Manfriani reproduces the famous portrait of Empress Eugenia de Montijo, by the painter Franz Xaver Winterhalter. The unenamelled sterling silver parts were then gilded with a 24-carat galvanic bath. In Art Nouveau style, with a “lost” zip, i.e. semi-invisible. Dimensions cm. 15 x 18 x 3.5. Weight gr. 1095. Designed by Giorgio Salimbeni in 1980 and manufactured in Florence at the Salimbeni company headquarters with completely manual execution by artisan artists with a very thick slab and large reinforcements suitable for supporting numerous enamelling firings at around 800° Doña María Eugenia Ignacia Agustina de Palafox y Kirkpatrick, 19th Countess of Teba, 16th Marquise of Ardales known as Eugénie de Montijo was Empress of the French from her marriage to Napoleon III on 30 January 1853 until the fall of the Emperor on 4 September 1870. From July 28 to September 4...
Category

1980s Italian Vintage Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Gold, Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel

Salimbeni Table Box Art Nouveau Painting Pre-Raphaelite School Fired Enamel
Located in Firenze, FI
This rectangular table box is a masterpiece of craftsmanship. Crafted from 925/1000 sterling silver and gold-plated, it features a hand-painted fire-enameled miniature by Beatrice Me...
Category

1980s Italian Vintage Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel

Table Box portrait of Natalia Nikolaevna Pushkina Lanskaja Salimbeni.
Located in Firenze, FI
Spectacular table box with inward corners in gold-plated 925/1000 sterling silver with translucent enamel fired on guilloche, in Art Nouveau style, and in the center a fine rectangul...
Category

1970s Italian Vintage Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Gold, Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel

Ballin / Hertz, Denmark, Art Nouveau Lidded Box in Pewter, circa 1920
Located in København, Copenhagen
Ballin / Hertz, Denmark. Art Nouveau lidded box in pewter decorated with a young girl, circa 1920. Measures: 13 x 4.5 cm In very good condition. Stamped.
Category

1920s Danish Vintage Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Pewter

Antique Continental Palm Coconut Inlaid Wood Box
Located in Northampton, GB
With Square Panels of exotic Coconut/Palm wood Form our Jewellery Box collection, we are pleased to offer this small sized Continental Continental Palm Coconut Wood Box. The Coconut...
Category

Early 1900s European Antique Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Palmwood

Snuffbox female face wearing Art Nouveau style clothing Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Rounded rectangular snuffbox in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated with fine hand-painted fire-enamelled miniature depicting a female face wearing Art Nouveau style clothing, hand-...
Category

1970s Italian Vintage Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Gold, Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel

Pill Box monochrome hand-painted miniature Sterling Silver Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Octagonal pillbox in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated with translucent fired asu guillochè enamel also on all sides and monochrome hand-painted miniature on the lid. Dimensions c...
Category

1970s Italian Vintage Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel

Lidded Canister with Handle, Elaborate Repoussé Enamel Work, Munich Secession
Located in Philadelphia, PA
Crafted by Ludwig Vierthaler for the Josef Winhart metalwork company in Munich, this gorgeous and singular lidded canister displays the bravura repoussé work that the artist is known for. Winhart hammered elaborate Secession-style swirls and geometric patterns into the sides and lid of this piece, and enriched the lid with midnight blue and ruddy brown enamels. The entire piece has a subtle hammered finish and a streaky patina that gives the surface great depth of color. Interestingly, Vierthaler spent years as a metalsmith at Tiffany and Company in New York...
Category

1910s German Vintage Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Copper, Enamel

Pill Box White Enamel Art Nouveau style Sterling Silver Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Round rounded pillbox in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated with translucent fired enamel on guillochè and hand-painted floral miniature on the lid. Viennese Art Nouveau style. Dia...
Category

1970s Italian Vintage Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Gold Plate, Sterling Silver, Enamel

Pill Box Sterling Silver Hand Painted Miniature Enamel on Guillochè Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Shaped pillbox in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated with hand-painted miniature in Louis XVI style, second half of the 19th century, and fine hand engravings. Measure cm. 3,5 x 4,...
Category

1970s Italian Vintage Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Sterling Silver

Snuff Box "Soap" Shaped with Horse s Head Sterling Silver Enamel Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Oval rounded "soap" shaped snuff box in 925/1000 sterling silver with fired enamels above and below and hand-painted miniature of a horse's head, English "Art Nouveau" style, early 1900s. Measurements cm. 4.7 x 6.7 x 2. Weight gr. 96. Designed by Franco Salimbeni in 1980 and manufactured in Florence in the headquarters of the Salimbeni company with completely manual execution by artisan artists with thick slab and large reinforcements suitable for withstanding numerous enamelled firings at high heat at about 800° C. Miniature is a very ancient technique which consists of painting works in small proportions. It was born for the decoration of the first letter of the paragraph of the books. Over the years, however, this technique is refined and enriched, then moving on to precious personal items. Hand-painted miniatures can be done with multiple different techniques. The most important that we use on our articles are of three kinds: 1) Fire enamel. 2) Water tempera on an ivory plate. 3) Painted on mother-of-pearl. Fire enameled miniatures: On a first layer of enamel generally white or very clear or even transparent suitably liquefied at a temperature of about 750 ° C, the chosen subject is painted using miniature colors which are as many colored crystals, ground and reduced to a very fine, almost impalpable powder washed and purified in distilled water with the addition of small quantities of deoxidizing acids which, diluted with essential oils (usually essential oil of solder), can be mixed to form a palette of colors. With very fine sable hair brushes you draw the subject starting from the perimeter and then gradually adding various layers of color. It is necessary to carry out various firings very often so that the colors harden and are not absorbed by the underlying glaze as, during the subsequent firings at 750 ° C, during liquefaction, it would spread irremediably. Hence the need to form the painting a little at a time, cooking it numerous times. Therefore it is necessary to proceed with numerous retouching, often overlapping different colors that only the painter's experience knows. A beautiful miniature needs from 20 to over 50 firings and is finished when the painter deems he does not have to further intervene. Some colors must have darker tones than others because then, by superimposing the transparent enamel placed at the end of the miniature, they fade. This transparent layer, called “fondant” in jargon, must be smoothed and polished like all other translucent enamel colors. The miniatures with water tempera colors are painted on real ivory...
Category

1980s Italian Vintage Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Sterling Silver, Enamel

1906 Art Nouveau Biscuit Tin by Huntley Palmers
Located in Chapel Hill, NC
Fame 1906 Art Nouveau waterfall form biscuit tin box by Huntley Palmers, English. Each side decorated with Greco-Roman figural reserves of "Fame", "Harvest", "Abundance", "Fire...
Category

Early 20th Century English Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Metal

Peter Keil Travel Suitcase Oil Painting
Located in Bradenton, FL
Peter Keil, Neo-expressionist, original painting on a travel suitcase. Signed and dated 1986 Berlin on bottom. Very good condition with mild storage...
Category

20th Century Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Leather

Wedding Favor Box fine engraving of flower shoots on lid 925 Silver Salimbeni
Located in Firenze, FI
Round wedding favor with lid in 925/1000 sterling silver gold plated with fine manual engraving of flower shoots, fire-enamelled with various colours, in early 1900s Art Nouveau styl...
Category

1960s Italian Vintage Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Crystal, Gold Plate, Sterling Silver

Wood Glass Display Case
Located in Guaynabo, PR
This is a rectangular wood display box featuring a tulip shaped stained glass in the front lid. Below the lid there is a small storage drawer. The open space behind the lid serve to display an sculpture, a vase or a religious saint...
Category

Early 20th Century Unknown Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Wood

Wood Glass Display Case
Wood Glass Display Case
$540 Sale Price
20% Off
Gorham Athenic Cigar Box with Cecil Aldin Enameled Plaque and Silver Decoration
Located in Cincinnati, OH
This fabulous circa 1902 cedar lined cigar box was made by Gorham as part of the company's Athenic range, introduced at the turn of the 20th century. The 3 pound 10 ounce rectangular mixed metal box has a copper body and bears decorative sterling silver ornamentation. The box rests on four silver pad form feet. The piece has a hinged lid which features a colorful inset enameled plaque at the center. The charming scene depicts an image after well regarded British artist and illustrator Cecil Aldin's 1830 work "The Oxford Coach". The underside is fully hallmarked and bears a Gorham date symbol which corresponds to 1902. This unusual collectible box...
Category

Early 20th Century American Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Sterling Silver, Copper, Enamel

Attractive antique sterling silver jewellery box with pierced lid made in 1918
Located in London, London
Hallmarked in Birmingham in 1918 by S. Blanckensee & Son Ltd., this attractive, Antique Sterling Silver Box, or Jewellery Box, features a pierced top, and is oval in shape. The box ...
Category

1910s English Vintage Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Sterling Silver

Box, Germany, Jugendstil, Art Nouveau, Liberty, 1890, Sign, WMF
Located in Ciudad Autónoma Buenos Aires, C
Box Page: 299 in the Book – Art Nouveau Domestic Metalwork from WMF Wurttembergische Metallwarenfabrik: The English Catalogue 1906 Hardcover Signatures: WMF G with ostrich = The fir...
Category

1890s German Antique Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Metal

Antique Art Nouveau Silver Enameled Oval Box Depicting a Woman Picking Grapes
Located in Hamilton, Ontario
This antique Continental silver and enamel box is hallmarked by an unknown maker, and presumed to have been made in Austria in approximately 1890 in the period Art Nouveau style. The oval shaped box is done in silver with an very well executed vignette of a woman reaching for a bunch of grapes on the vine on the top with presumably the rising morning sun in the background. The sides of the box are done with a deep green enameled banding...
Category

Late 19th Century Austrian Antique Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Silver

Modern Serving Tray Onyx Leather Brass Handmade in Portugal by Lusitanus Home
Located in Lisboa, PT
Serving Tray, Lusitanus Home Collection, Handcrafted in Portugal - Europe by Lusitanus Home. A sublime serving tray, Oshu was design to uplift layback moments. A serving tray upho...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Onyx, Brass

Modern Serving Tray Calacatta Marble Brass Handmade Portugal by Lusitanus Home
Located in Lisboa, PT
Serving Tray Sakai, Lusitanus Home Collection, Handcrafted in Portugal - Europe by Lusitanus Home. A sublime serving tray, Sakai was design to uplift layback moments. An organic-sha...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Portuguese Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Marble, Brass

Collector s Item Art Nouveau Lidded Tin, 1920s
Located in Hamburg, DE
The unusual thing about this Art Nouveau tin lid box made of sheet metal is, on the one hand, its shape and, on the other, the elaborately different design of each side of the box. T...
Category

Early 20th Century German Art Nouveau Decorative Boxes

Materials

Metal

Art Nouveau decorative boxes for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a broad range of unique Art Nouveau decorative boxes for sale on 1stDibs. Many of these items were first offered in the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artisans have continued to produce works inspired by this style. If you’re looking to add vintage decorative boxes created in this style to your space, the works available on 1stDibs include decorative objects, serveware, ceramics, silver and glass, more furniture and collectibles and other home furnishings, frequently crafted with metal, silver and other materials. If you’re shopping for used Art Nouveau decorative boxes made in a specific country, there are Europe, France, and Italy pieces for sale on 1stDibs. While there are many designers and brands associated with original decorative boxes, popular names associated with this style include Alfred Daguet, Franco Salimbeni, Tiffany Studios, and WMF Württembergische Metallwarenfabrik. It’s true that these talented designers have at times inspired knockoffs, but our experienced specialists have partnered with only top vetted sellers to offer authentic pieces that come with a buyer protection guarantee. Prices for decorative boxes differ depending upon multiple factors, including designer, materials, construction methods, condition and provenance. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $50 and tops out at $150,000 while the average work can sell for $1,207.

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