What were trinket boxes originally used for?

Many were made for a specific consumable or accessory: snuff, face patches, tea, stamps, gloves, or sewing kit. Each acquired its own purpose-made container through the 18th and 19th centuries. "Trinket box" is the later trade label. Dealers use it for jewellery and keepsake boxes, and often for caddies, glove boxes and work boxes that started life doing something else.

Which woods appear most often?

Walnut and rosewood lead the timber words in titles, followed by burr walnut, mahogany, oak and ebony. Papier mâché bodies, japanned and hand painted, run through the snuff and pocket boxes. Olivewood, fruitwood, laburnum and coquilla nut show up in the treen and turned end of the archive.

How old are most of these boxes?

The dated field runs from 1750 to 1950, with 205 listings carrying a clean year. Era tags carry the rest: 19th Century, Victorian, Georgian, Regency, Edwardian, plus decade tags for the 1880s, 1890s, 1900s and 1920s. A handful sit earlier, tagged 17th Century or simply "Before 1700". A Welsh oak table box in the archive is put at around 1640.

Are trinket boxes on Sellingantiques mostly English?

No. French appears in more titles than English, and Japanese and Indian pieces both have a steady presence. The geography shows in the decoration too: sadeli mosaic from Anglo-Indian workshops, damascened iron and cloisonné from Japan, ormolu-mounted glass and porcelain from France.

Do many carry silver hallmarks?

Silver is a minority of the category, and a smaller share again of live stock. Assay towns are barely recorded in titles at all. Chester, London and Birmingham are the only offices named across the whole sample, so a stated assay date is the exception rather than the pattern.

What unusual forms turn up in this category?

Novelty shapes surface regularly. A horse's hoof snuff box, boxes made as stacking books, a football, a coach and horses, a Georgian house facade, and treen boxes carved as ladies' feet in open-toed shoes. Other one-offs include prisoner-of-war straw work, tramp art, shellwork, and a snuff box made from oak salvaged after the 1834 Houses of Parliament fire. Star tortoise shells mounted as jewellery boxes and porcupine quill boxes from Ceylon appear more than once.

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Antique Trinket Boxes

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A trinket box is a small lidded container, usually under about 30cm, made to hold jewellery, snuff, patches, stamps, gloves or keepsakes.

19th century

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A 19th Century French Horn Snuff Box Depicting a Biblical Scene

From Gerard Robinson Fine Art and Antiques

£275

FOR SALE

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19th C. Gilt Bronze and Etched Glass Jewellery Box

19th century

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19th C. Gilt Bronze and Etched Glass Jewellery Box

From Judy Fox Antiques

£1,000

FOR SALE

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19th century

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Charming Quality Antique 19th Century Brass and Coromandel Vanity Box

From Unique Antiques by Emma Jade

£845

FOR SALE

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18th century

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Georgian Mahogany Tea Caddy

From Reindeer Antiques

£350

FOR SALE

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Antique Oval Patterned Trinket Jewellery Ring Box - Red Interior - Dated 1916

1900 - 1920

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Antique Oval Patterned Trinket Jewellery Ring Box - Red Interior - Dated 1916

From Lancastrian Jewellers

£345

FOR SALE

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19th century

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A Profusely Decorated Gothic Revival Brass Casket, Second Half 19th Century

From Jeckyll & Co

£145

FOR SALE

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17th century

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17th Century Laburnum Oyster Veneered Lace Box, William & Mary Period

From S and S Timms Antiques Ltd

£2,350

FOR SALE

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19th century

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Chinese Enamel Box

From David Robinson Antiques

£385

FOR SALE

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19th century

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19th Century Irish Carved Oak Castle Jewellery Box

From Harrington Antiques

£1,100

FOR SALE

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19th century

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Victorian Walnut Brass Bound Box

From In A Nutshell Antiques and Interiors

£110

FOR SALE

boxes

Novelty forms turn up often: a horse's hoof snuff box, a stack of books, a soccer football, a coach and horses, and treen boxes carved as ladies' feet.

Napoleonic Prisoner of War Straw Work Box. Portoferraio Elba. C1810.

19th century

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Napoleonic Prisoner of War Straw Work Box. Portoferraio Elba. C1810.

From Krave Antiques

£635

FOR SALE

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19th century

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19th Century Lacquered Chinoiserie Box

From Treasury Antiques

£140

FOR SALE

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19th century

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Outstanding French Glove Box

From Fernyhough Antiques Ltd

£295

FOR SALE

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19th century

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French Amboyna Box by Tahan

From Millers Antiques

£460

FOR SALE

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English Walnut and Silk Sewing Box C1860

19th century

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English Walnut and Silk Sewing Box C1860

From Shaun King Antiques

£265

FOR SALE

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An Unusual Antique Engine Turned Snuff Box - Decorated Inside and Out

18th century

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An Unusual Antique Engine Turned Snuff Box - Decorated Inside and Out

From Opus Antiques

£445

FOR SALE

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Antique Trinket Boxes

A 19th Century French Horn Snuff Box Depicting a Biblical Scene

19th C. Gilt Bronze and Etched Glass Jewellery Box

Charming Quality Antique 19th Century Brass and Coromandel Vanity Box

Georgian Mahogany Tea Caddy

Antique Oval Patterned Trinket Jewellery Ring Box - Red Interior - Dated 1916

A Profusely Decorated Gothic Revival Brass Casket, Second Half 19th Century

17th Century Laburnum Oyster Veneered Lace Box, William & Mary Period

Chinese Enamel Box

19th Century Irish Carved Oak Castle Jewellery Box

Victorian Walnut Brass Bound Box

Napoleonic Prisoner of War Straw Work Box. Portoferraio Elba. C1810.

19th Century Lacquered Chinoiserie Box

Outstanding French Glove Box

French Amboyna Box by Tahan

English Walnut and Silk Sewing Box C1860

An Unusual Antique Engine Turned Snuff Box - Decorated Inside and Out

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