What sort of box turns up most often?

Tea caddies. The word caddy appears in 49 of 268 titles and tea in 54, which makes it the largest identifiable form in the category by a clear margin. Behind it sit generic table boxes, caskets, and jewellery, trinket and keepsake boxes, which together account for roughly another two-fifths of what has been listed.

Which woods do these boxes use?

Rosewood is the commonest named timber at 24 titles, then walnut, burr veneers and mahogany. Coromandel, the dense black-and-brown striped hardwood, appears on eight. Beyond those, the archive carries amboyna, kingwood, satinwood, thuya, padouk, laburnum oyster and Gonçalo Alves, usually on smaller pieces where a striking veneer does the decorating.

Are there named makers in this category?

No. The category is described by material, form and decoration rather than by workshop, and no maker registers as a category-wide presence. What does get named instead is origin: English on 19 titles and French on 18, with single appearances for Swedish, Dutch, Russian, Persian, Afghan, Qajar Iranian, Burmese and Scottish work.

How old are the oldest examples?

The dated field runs from 1750 to 1950. The earliest clean years attach to a George II brass-mounted padouk tea caddy of about 1760, an English lead tobacco keeper of about 1750, and two tortoiseshell caddies also given as 1750. A few pieces go further back on the strength of their titles alone: a 17th-century olive wood lace box, a 17th-century floral marquetry box and a 17th-century Afghan box.

What counts as a fitted interior?

Anything the box was built to carry that's still with it. Caddies come with inner metal canisters, a glass mixing bowl, a mixing stick, a sugar dish or a key. Sewing, writing and games boxes carry their own fittings. Listings tend to spell it out in the title, with words like complete or fitted interior doing the selling.

Do unusual or novelty boxes appear?

Regularly enough to count as a minor theme. Book-shaped boxes recur, including a pair of stacking books, three fake books and a leather faux-book casket, plus a biscuit tin made to imitate carved Indian hardwood. Other oddities have included a carved coconut shell, a porcupine quill box, a four-tier treen spice tower and a painted waste paper bin sold as a tea canister.

Home > Boxes > Decorative Boxes > Page 11

Antique Decorative Boxes

205 items · page 11 of 13

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Small lidded containers made to sit out on a table, built to hold things that once cost money: tea, jewels, snuff, sewing kit and writing materials.

19th century

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Small Mahogany Antique Tea Caddy

From Driscolls Antiques Ltd

£245

3+ MONTHS AGO

boxes

19th century

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19thc Mahogany Writing Box / Slope

From Limited Editions

£370

3+ MONTHS AGO

boxes

18th century

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Large Georgian Mahogany Tea Caddy

From S and S Timms Antiques Ltd

£795

3+ MONTHS AGO

boxes

19th century

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19th Century Hand Painted Tine Decorative Box

From Debenham Antiques Ltd

£395

3+ MONTHS AGO

boxes

A Good Quality Victorian Music Box Circa 1875

19th century

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A Good Quality Victorian Music Box Circa 1875

From Frank Craig Antiques

£950

3+ MONTHS AGO

boxes

19th century

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A Carved Wood Casket, Qajar Iran, 19th Century

From H & H Gallery

£5,500

3+ MONTHS AGO

boxes

Mid 18th Century Swedish Pine Baroque Metal Bound Box

19th century

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Mid 18th Century Swedish Pine Baroque Metal Bound Box

From Debenham Antiques Ltd

£850

3+ MONTHS AGO

boxes

19th century

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Regency Leather Sewing Box

From Fernyhough Antiques Ltd

£495

3+ MONTHS AGO

boxes

Fine Quality Antique Inlaid Lacquered Oriental Box

19th century

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Fine Quality Antique Inlaid Lacquered Oriental Box

From London City Antiques

£495

3+ MONTHS AGO

boxes

1900 - 1920

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Colonial Dome Top Tin Casket

From Worboys Antiques

£195

3+ MONTHS AGO

boxes

About thirty-three decorative boxes are listed on Sellingantiques each year, and 128 different dealers have handled them - roughly one dealer per two listings.

Rosewood Tea Caddy with Tunbridge Ware Inlay

19th century

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Rosewood Tea Caddy with Tunbridge Ware Inlay

From John Beazor Antiques

£985

3+ MONTHS AGO

boxes

Antique Collector's Box, Chinese, Rosewood, Decorative Specimen Case, Circa 1920

1900 - 1920

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Antique Collector's Box, Chinese, Rosewood, Decorative Specimen Case, Circa 1920

From London Fine Antiques

£2,750

3+ MONTHS AGO

boxes

17th century

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17th Century Olive Wood Lace Box

From Holmes Antiques

£2,200

3+ MONTHS AGO

boxes

17th century

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A Fine 17th Century and Later Floral Marquetry Box

From H & H Gallery

£3,850

3+ MONTHS AGO

boxes

A Fine Victorian Coromandel Brass Bound Pietra Dura Stationary Box, by C.g. Hope Hastings

19th century

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A Fine Victorian Coromandel Brass Bound Pietra Dura Stationary Box, by C.g. Hope Hastings

From Bushells Antiques

£650

3+ MONTHS AGO

boxes

Chinese Cinnabar Lacquer Box - Mid Qing Dynasty

19th century

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Chinese Cinnabar Lacquer Box - Mid Qing Dynasty

From Jane Short Antiques

£425

3+ MONTHS AGO

boxes

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Antique Decorative Boxes

Small Mahogany Antique Tea Caddy

19thc Mahogany Writing Box / Slope

Large Georgian Mahogany Tea Caddy

19th Century Hand Painted Tine Decorative Box

A Good Quality Victorian Music Box Circa 1875

A Carved Wood Casket, Qajar Iran, 19th Century

Mid 18th Century Swedish Pine Baroque Metal Bound Box

Regency Leather Sewing Box

Fine Quality Antique Inlaid Lacquered Oriental Box

Colonial Dome Top Tin Casket

Rosewood Tea Caddy with Tunbridge Ware Inlay

Antique Collector's Box, Chinese, Rosewood, Decorative Specimen Case, Circa 1920

17th Century Olive Wood Lace Box

A Fine 17th Century and Later Floral Marquetry Box

A Fine Victorian Coromandel Brass Bound Pietra Dura Stationary Box, by C.g. Hope Hastings

Chinese Cinnabar Lacquer Box - Mid Qing Dynasty

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