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.

18th century

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18th Century South Staffordshire Snuff Box

From Treaders Collectables

£1,000

3+ MONTHS AGO

boxes

18th century

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18th Century Bilston Enamel Oval Patch / Snuff Box Circa 1780

From Treaders Collectables

£900

3+ MONTHS AGO

boxes

18th century

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18th Century South Staffordshire Snuff Box - 'Musicians in Parkland'

From Treaders Collectables

£2,000

3+ MONTHS AGO

boxes

18th century

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18th Century Indian Carved Teak Spice Box Circa 1790

From Robert Belcher Antiques

£695

3+ MONTHS AGO

boxes

18th century

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18th Century Chinese Beijing Enamel Snuff Box

From Treaders Collectables

£7,500

3+ MONTHS AGO

boxes

19th century

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George III Burr Yew Cube Tea Caddy

From Spitalfields House

£225

3+ MONTHS AGO

boxes

18th century

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A Rare Size Mini Tea Caddy

From Opus Antiques

£275

3+ MONTHS AGO

boxes

18th century

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18th Century Bilston Enamel Rectangular Patch / Snuff Box Circa 1780

From Treaders Collectables

£800

3+ MONTHS AGO

boxes

Antique Early Treen Fruitwood "Shuttle" Snuff Box with Bone Inlay. English C1840-60.

19th century

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Antique Early Treen Fruitwood "Shuttle" Snuff Box with Bone Inlay. English C1840-60.

From Mark Seabrook Antiques

£185

3+ MONTHS AGO

boxes

19th century

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A Lovely Mid 19th Century Tortoiseshell Snuff Box

From Jeff Sims Antiques

£125

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.

17th century

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17th Century Dutch Delft Snuff / Patch Box

From Treaders Collectables

£470

3+ MONTHS AGO

boxes

18th century

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18th Century Bilston Enamel Patch Box / Bonbonniere Circa 1780

From Treaders Collectables

£1,200

3+ MONTHS AGO

boxes

18th century

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18th Century Bilston Enamel Rectangular Patch / Snuff Box Circa 1775

From Treaders Collectables

£1,000

3+ MONTHS AGO

boxes

Victorian Collectors Cabinet Mother of Pearl Jewellery Chest 1880

19th century

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Victorian Collectors Cabinet Mother of Pearl Jewellery Chest 1880

From Canonbury Antiques

£645

3+ MONTHS AGO

boxes

Gnome Et Le Rhone Engine Company Tool Box Circa World War 1

1900 - 1920

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Gnome Et Le Rhone Engine Company Tool Box Circa World War 1

From Jon Hill Antiques

£475

3+ MONTHS AGO

boxes

Victorian Burr Walnut Dressing & Jewellery Box with Fitted Interior and Mirror

19th century

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Victorian Burr Walnut Dressing & Jewellery Box with Fitted Interior and Mirror

From Salisbury Antiques Centre

£460

3+ MONTHS AGO

boxes

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Antique Trinket Boxes

18th Century South Staffordshire Snuff Box

18th Century Bilston Enamel Oval Patch / Snuff Box Circa 1780

18th Century South Staffordshire Snuff Box - 'Musicians in Parkland'

18th Century Indian Carved Teak Spice Box Circa 1790

18th Century Chinese Beijing Enamel Snuff Box

George III Burr Yew Cube Tea Caddy

A Rare Size Mini Tea Caddy

18th Century Bilston Enamel Rectangular Patch / Snuff Box Circa 1780

Antique Early Treen Fruitwood "Shuttle" Snuff Box with Bone Inlay. English C1840-60.

A Lovely Mid 19th Century Tortoiseshell Snuff Box

17th Century Dutch Delft Snuff / Patch Box

18th Century Bilston Enamel Patch Box / Bonbonniere Circa 1780

18th Century Bilston Enamel Rectangular Patch / Snuff Box Circa 1775

Victorian Collectors Cabinet Mother of Pearl Jewellery Chest 1880

Gnome Et Le Rhone Engine Company Tool Box Circa World War 1

Victorian Burr Walnut Dressing & Jewellery Box with Fitted Interior and Mirror

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