Texas Decorative Boxes

Trinket box, velvet-lined, enamel on copper plate by Irwin Whitaker. Irwin Whitaker - Oklahoma-born artist who was prolific in California, Taos, Austin...

French Majolica box with Cyclamens, Circa 1890.

Place this elegant, antique Napoleon III copper box in your master bath to keep your jewelry safe and organized. Crafted in France circa 1880, the ornate ...

This primitive Early 20th Century Shoe Shine Box was handcrafted from pine in the early 1900's. The piece featrues a hand carved shoe form angled and resting on a pedestal base that ...

19th Century French Alligator Traveling Box. Offered is a beautiful French Belle Epoque period alligator traveling box. This handsome distressed alligator skin box is trimmed in meta...

A rather unique painted chest from Europe, this table coffer was commissioned in 1915. The right side (when viewing from the front) is dated, with the numbers flanking a springing ra...

Hand painted Faux onyx Maitland Smith decorative box with hinged lid and brass feet. Wonderful brush work make this quite the decorative ite...

A 17th century Malines alabaster and ebonised wood coffer or casket with engraved inset panels, arches and columns. The interior has a marbled paper lini...

Keep your jewelry or important documents locked up in this small antique safe from Northern France. Crafted, circa 1880, the 52 pound cast safe has a chic two-tone black and silver paint finish. The heavy...

More information coming soon… Known as a coffret a courrier, this French letter box would have been used in the 1700s to conceal private papers or valuables. The leather exterior i...

Scandinavian tine, or svepask, painted bentwood oval-shape box circa late 19th century, probably from the Sogn og Fjordane region. Box is created from thin layers of steam-bent wood ...

Incredible matching handcrafted Forget Me Not lided box with matching ash tray. This handcrafted set is in excellent condition and is comprised of fused glass with a pieced pattern ...

This unique Late 19th Century Storage Box was handcrafted from old growth walnut and hand forged iron in the late 1800's. The piece features iron bound edges, two side handles, one f...

Crafted in France, circa 1870, the antique brass coffer is mounted on a wooden frame, and stands on caster wheels. The slant top opens up with stopping chain revealing inside storage...

This late 18th-century Swedish wooden box exudes rustic charm and historical character. Crafted in Sweden during the waning years of the 18th century, this antique treasure showcases...

Add a touch of elegance to your home decor with this beautiful Italian carved walnut coffer. The modern style of this box makes it a perfect addition to any room in your home. The wa...

A magnificent antique fall-front box with scarce Medieval period bronze lockplate and hasp attributed to Jacopo and Lodovico del Duca. Featuring an important Lockplate and Hasp designed circa 1570, exact date of manufacture unknown, attributed to the late 16th century Roman foundry of Jacopo 1520-1604) and Ludovico (1551-1601) del Duca, with no apparent signatures or hallmarks which is typical of the era, but we did not remove it and inspect the back. Boxes such as this hand various uses but were frequently used by merchants as a writing box - slope during travel and trade, as a small coffer - strong box for storing important documents, money and valuables, as well as a jewelry casket. This hand-crafted European drop-front box dates to the late 19th century, signed L'PUPLET, adorned with a significantly older Italian fine quality cast bronze lockplate with intricate Renaissance era reliefs, including figures, coat-of-arms, and elongated hasp, mounted on a chest of drawers form solid wooden case, wrapped in exotic Japanesque embossed and gilded metallic paper, having a locking fall-front panel with original key included, opening to reveal three interior drawers, all lined in red velvet. circa 1875 The visually striking textured wallpaper covering the box's exterior displays bamboo, birds, and flowers in the oriental Japanesque taste popular in Europe in the 1860s and 1870s following the forced reopening of foreign trade with Japan in 1858 and the ensuing Japonisme craze. To the interior of the fall front panel is a gilt circular stamp with the somewhat obscured name of the workshop or store (likely) "L'PUPLET" and the city "Burxelles" which is in Brussels, indicating the box was likely made or retailed there. Marks to box: L'PUPLET, BRUXELLES Inscription: 13, 14, 15 (Interior drawers inscribed on the verso of their backboards in script from top to bottom, respectively) Provenance / Acquisition: The origin of the elaborate lockplate with hasp on the front of the piece is more intriguing. At least 76 lockplates of this design have been recorded in major museums, private collections, and in the antiques trade across the Western World. For example, lockplates of this pattern are in the collections of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the State Museum of Prussian Cultural Heritage in Berlin, the Museum Cicico in Bologna, The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Dallas Museum of Art in Texas, the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, the Museo di Palazzo Venezia in Rome, the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, and the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.[1] Specialists in Renaissance bronzes, especially Charles Avery...

Large Majolica lobster box tureen signed Michel Caugant circa 1950.

Circa 1750. Tortoiseshell and mother of pearl box with sliding top from Mexico 18th century. Beautiful designs all over. As is condition.

This Gift box was made by artist Bruny Graves. It's made in a Raku style. Raku is a low firing process that produces unpredictable and unique results. The box is full of Haiku scroll...

Decorate a coffee table or a shelf with this elegant antique box. Created in France circa 1880, the rectangular cabinet is decorated with an elegant floral inlaid star motif on the t...

Spanish Colonial inlaid bone and faux tortoiseshell domed top box. Original hammered iron hinges. Circa 1680-1740. Excellent condition and very rare.

Italian Faux Marble Lacquered Box. Offered is a stunning well executed Italian decorative box with several varieties of specimen marble in a geometric pattern. This box is the perfec...

19th Century English Regency Leather Box. Offered is a large handsome antique English Regency embossed leather box with bronze trim, compartment for letters, notes or paper with a dr...

This exquisite, antique pigskin box was crafted in Rouen France, circa 1870. This leather box features leather straps and handle embellished with decorativ...

19th Century English Georgian Burlwood Wig Box. Offered is a handsome large early 19th century English Georgian period burl wood wig box with bronze trim and hardware. This decorati...

Maitland Smith Mother Of Pearl Box. Offered is a very large decorative box of tessellated mother of pearl in the geometric Art Deco styl...

Maitland Smith Decorative Box. Offered is a handsome cork box by Maitland Smith. This good sized well made box if felt lined makes a great table or bookcase accessory. A great spot ...

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...

A superb antique English burl walnut and ebony inlaid tunbridge writing slope box / lap desk, circa 1870. This handsome box opens to reveal a leather...

A lovely small Chinese export cloisonne trinket box with a carved hardstone roundel, Early Republic Period circa 1915, China. The small cloisonne box set on four short bun feet, and...

Perhaps originally designed as a Bento Box, this is a one-of-a-kind piece for your home-office or study desk. It has iconic 1970s modern lines and beautifully exemplifies the elevat...

Marvelous and rare sized hand carved Italian coffer, circa 1800. Having lovely hand painted landscape scenes, acanthus leaf motif detailing, and handwro...

A rare French marqueterie de paille (colored straw marquetry) sewing work box. Delicately hand-crafted in Provincial Burgundy, France, late 18th / ...

Found in the South of France, this wooden box was handmade in France in the early 20th Century. The piece presents nailhead trim around the edges, a brass handle on the top and a met...

A French blue enamel napkin box with red Moroccan leather and carved steel silver mounts. The leather pushes in with a spring mounted red leather lid, very ...

19th Century Italian carved walnut document lion box.

Rare 19th Century Majolica Box Books Choisy Le Roi. H / 6.8 inches

A lovely Chinese turquoise cloisonne trinket box with images of the Hundred Antiques, Republic Period, circa 1920, China. The rectangular box de...

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...

French Faience Tea Canister Flowers signed Emile Tessier Malicorne Circa 1930. Painting of tulips and roses Height / 6.8 inches.  

A small and delightful Japanese yellow ground cloisonne round trinket or incense box, Meiji Period, circa 1910, Japan. The small box of squat, round shape, and may originally have b...

Presenting an absolutely gorgeous and very rare 19C Anglo Indian Vizigapatam stamp box. Made in Colonial India (the Time of the Raj) circa 1860. Prob...

Majolica cottage Money Bank Box, Circa 1900.

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...

Grand tour Moser Bohemian flashed red crystal box. The interior fitted with two original scent bottles. All bronze dore in very bright condition. All i...

French Majolica basket with cat seeking a mouse Onnaing, circa 1900.

This antique coal scuttle was created in France, circa 1870. Built of cast iron, and shaped as a shell with foliage repousse decor, the patinated bucket stands on escargot feet over ...

Majolica ostrich tureen or box circa 1950 signed Caugant.   

PRESENTING A GORGEOUS 19C Anglo Indian Highly Carved Sadeli Mosaic Sarcophagus Sewing Box. Made in Bombay, India circa 1860-80. Box made of sandalwood with highly carved teak wood reliefs and panels on all sides. Edged with bone and ebony veneers and glorious sadeli mosaic, made from tiny pieces of faux ivory, pewter, green semi-precious stone. The box is in a sarcophagus form with domed lid. The original brass carry handles are on the sides. The interior is in great condition and consists of a removeable mirror under the lid portion, with the original red velvet lining behind it. The base is removeable and contains a number of lidded compartments. 6 of the interior lids on the base, are each inlaid with sadeli mosaic banding. The rest are also carved and chased. The interior is fully complete with 7 lidded faux ivory/bone, thread canisters with sadeli domes and the original bone thimble. The box sits on 4 brass ball or bun feet with the original velvet lining on the base. Some minor repairs and losses, but this box is fully complete. This is ‘rare’ as many of these boxes have not survived in such condition! Included in the sale are 2 photos that were in the box (under the base tray). Interestingly, one of them is a view of downtown Nassau, New Providence (Bermuda) from the early 20C and stamped on the rear. What a ‘journey’ this piece has made! Made in India … travelled to Bermuda, probably via Britain … back to Ireland (where we bought it) …. then to Texas! 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! Of it’s type, this one, is one of the very higher quality one’s, than the norm! 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...

19th Century Victorian Majolica cobalt box with a bird handle and white flowers Joseph Holdcroft. Very rare shape box.  

A Portuguese or Cuban silver mounted mahogany knife box from the 18th century. Box with a worn painted inscription to the backside dated 1786.

A Louis XVI kingwood small chest with brass mounts. Opens to a metal lined interior and two velvet working lower drawers. Circa 1700, France.

A highly decorative vintage Chinese red painted stacking picnic box and carrier, painted in the Tibetan style, circa 1990's, China. The large painted and textured wood picnic box and carrier comprised of three trays or boxes, and one lid, all housed in a handled carrier. The red painted boxes and cover stack. A large roundel design of a golden dragon face within a cloud collar...

A stunning and scarce antique English Victorian era burlwood voting box. Hand-crafted in the 19th century, the small table box having a rectangular case wi...

Antique Chinese brass decorative box with Jade Medallion. This stunning Chinese export brass box features a beautiful etched bat design with a central c...

This is a well relief carved Jewelry box. It was probably made on the west coast of Africa. It looks to depict the heads of 3 Jaguars in relief.

An important early antique Italian Renaissance table box, handcrafted in Northern Italy in the 17th/18th century, cassone chest form, richly inlaid, the top and front panel with fruitwood banding framing...

A stunning Japanese Edo period lacquer tanzakubako, box for poem cards, late 18th-early 19th century, Edo Period, Japan. Attributed to the Igarashi School, this box is masterfully ...

White Majolica Pate Tureen Digoin Sarreguemines Circa 1950.