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.

Early Victorian Coromandel and Mother of Pearl Jewellery Box C1850

19th century

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Early Victorian Coromandel and Mother of Pearl Jewellery Box C1850

From Aramis Antiques

£850

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

Antique French Silvered Copper Jewellery Casket Box B Wicker 19th C

19th century

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Antique French Silvered Copper Jewellery Casket Box B Wicker 19th C

From Regent Antiques

£1,250

3+ MONTHS AGO

boxes

19th century

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Small 19th Century Original Painted Sarcophagus Box

From Debenham Antiques Ltd

£550

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

17th century

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17th Century Oak Box

From Holmes Antiques

£1,400

3+ MONTHS AGO

boxes

19th century

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19th Century Rosewood Dressing/jewellery Box

From FB Antiques

£375

3+ MONTHS AGO

boxes

19th century

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Early 19th Century Swedish Carved Oak Lidded Box

From Debenham Antiques Ltd

£325

3+ MONTHS AGO

boxes

An Arts and Crafts Box Covered in Hand Beaten Pewter Good Condition

1900 - 1920

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An Arts and Crafts Box Covered in Hand Beaten Pewter Good Condition

From Gerard Robinson Fine Art and Antiques

£225

3+ MONTHS AGO

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.

Victorian Inlaid Papier Mache Jewellery Cabinet

19th century

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Victorian Inlaid Papier Mache Jewellery Cabinet

From Hobson May Collection

£745

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

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

Welsh Carved Oak Table Box with Drawer, Circa 1640

17th century

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Welsh Carved Oak Table Box with Drawer, Circa 1640

From WelshAntiques

£1,900

3+ MONTHS AGO

boxes

19th century

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Tunbridge Ware Table Box 1880

From Michael Johnson Antiques

£350

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

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Antique Trinket Boxes

Early Victorian Coromandel and Mother of Pearl Jewellery Box C1850

Large Georgian Mahogany Tea Caddy

Antique French Silvered Copper Jewellery Casket Box B Wicker 19th C

Small 19th Century Original Painted Sarcophagus Box

A Good Quality Victorian Music Box Circa 1875

A Carved Wood Casket, Qajar Iran, 19th Century

17th Century Oak Box

19th Century Rosewood Dressing/jewellery Box

Early 19th Century Swedish Carved Oak Lidded Box

An Arts and Crafts Box Covered in Hand Beaten Pewter Good Condition

Victorian Inlaid Papier Mache Jewellery Cabinet

Fine Quality Antique Inlaid Lacquered Oriental Box

Rosewood Tea Caddy with Tunbridge Ware Inlay

Welsh Carved Oak Table Box with Drawer, Circa 1640

Tunbridge Ware Table Box 1880

17th Century Olive Wood Lace Box

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