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.

Gorgeous Victorian Antique Walnut Jewellery Chest – Circa 1890

19th century

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Gorgeous Victorian Antique Walnut Jewellery Chest – Circa 1890

From Kingsdown Antiques

£795

FOR SALE

boxes

An Arts and Crafts Period Copper Cigar Box Circa 1900

1900 - 1920

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An Arts and Crafts Period Copper Cigar Box Circa 1900

From Robert Belcher Antiques

£325

FOR SALE

boxes

Beautiful Victorian Burr Walnut Box with Lined Interior,

19th century

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Beautiful Victorian Burr Walnut Box with Lined Interior,

From The Dorking Desk Shop

£175

FOR SALE

boxes

18th century

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Burr Yew Tea Caddy

From The Fine Art Fund

£650

FOR SALE

boxes

19th century

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Georgian Mahogany Shell Inlaid Box

From Minerva Antiques Ltd

£495

FOR SALE

boxes

Victorian Inlaid Papier Mache Jewellery Cabinet

19th century

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Victorian Inlaid Papier Mache Jewellery Cabinet

From Hobson May Collection

£745

FOR SALE

boxes

19th century

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Antique Carved Wood Snuff Box

From Gerard Robinson Fine Art and Antiques

£235

FOR SALE

boxes

1900 - 1920

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René Lalique Roger Powder Box

From Art Deco And More

£1,295

FOR SALE

boxes

1900 - 1920

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Leather Jewellery Box C.1920

From Michael Johnson Antiques

£230

FOR SALE

boxes

A Rare Art Deco Odeon Style Secret Safe Book

1900 - 1920

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A Rare Art Deco Odeon Style Secret Safe Book

From Elmgarden

£375

FOR SALE

boxes

Tunbridge ware runs through about twenty-five titles on Sellingantiques, as trinket boxes, stamp boxes, snuff boxes, tea caddies, work boxes and a white ware variant.

19th century

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High Quality Leather Jewellery Box 1880

From Michael Johnson Antiques

£240

FOR SALE

boxes

English Regency Rosewood Desk / Jewellery Box - Cut Brass Inlaid C.1820

19th century

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English Regency Rosewood Desk / Jewellery Box - Cut Brass Inlaid C.1820

From Puckerings

£750

FOR SALE

boxes

19th century

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19th Century Decorated Papier-mâché Table Snuff Box

From Heydays Antiques

£125

FOR SALE

boxes

19th century

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German Steel Casket

From David Robinson Antiques

£950

FOR SALE

boxes

19th century

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An Interesting and Very Decorative Kashmir 19th Century Indian Turban or Crown Box

From Gerard Robinson Fine Art and Antiques

£325

FOR SALE

boxes

19th century

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Regency Parquetry Inlaid Games Box

From Jane Short Antiques

£445

FOR SALE

boxes

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Antique Trinket Boxes

Gorgeous Victorian Antique Walnut Jewellery Chest – Circa 1890

An Arts and Crafts Period Copper Cigar Box Circa 1900

Beautiful Victorian Burr Walnut Box with Lined Interior,

Burr Yew Tea Caddy

Georgian Mahogany Shell Inlaid Box

Victorian Inlaid Papier Mache Jewellery Cabinet

Antique Carved Wood Snuff Box

René Lalique Roger Powder Box

Leather Jewellery Box C.1920

A Rare Art Deco Odeon Style Secret Safe Book

High Quality Leather Jewellery Box 1880

English Regency Rosewood Desk / Jewellery Box - Cut Brass Inlaid C.1820

19th Century Decorated Papier-mâché Table Snuff Box

German Steel Casket

An Interesting and Very Decorative Kashmir 19th Century Indian Turban or Crown Box

Regency Parquetry Inlaid Games Box

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