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.

Erhard and Sohne Jugendstil Inlaid Jewellery Box Circa 1900

1900 - 1920

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Erhard and Sohne Jugendstil Inlaid Jewellery Box Circa 1900

From Marion David Decorative Arts

£295

3+ MONTHS AGO

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Larger Than Usual Art Deco Silver Box by Sigvard Bernadotte for Georg Jensen

1920 - 1940

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Larger Than Usual Art Deco Silver Box by Sigvard Bernadotte for Georg Jensen

From Morgan Strickland Decorative Arts

£1,950

3+ MONTHS AGO

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Antique French Cobalt Blue Sevres Porcelain Jewellery Casket 19th C

19th century

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Antique French Cobalt Blue Sevres Porcelain Jewellery Casket 19th C

From Regent Antiques

£975

3+ MONTHS AGO

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19th century

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Small Scandinavian Painted Box

From Millers Antiques

£275

3+ MONTHS AGO

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Antique English Oak & Silver Box. Wooden Humidor Cigar Box. 1920.

1900 - 1920

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Antique English Oak & Silver Box. Wooden Humidor Cigar Box. 1920.

From Krave Antiques

£395

3+ MONTHS AGO

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19th century

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19th Century Napoleonic War Prisoner of War Straw Work Box

From Earl and Rymer

£375

3+ MONTHS AGO

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18th century

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An Unusual Georgian Semi-circular Box

From Opus Antiques

£395

3+ MONTHS AGO

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18th century

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A Rare Late 18th Century Miniature Oak Box.

From Christian Davies Antiques Ltd

£385

3+ MONTHS AGO

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Mappin & Webb Sterling Silver and Oak Cigar or Trinket Box

19th century

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Mappin & Webb Sterling Silver and Oak Cigar or Trinket Box

From Piers Rankin Antique Silver

£425

3+ MONTHS AGO

boxes

19th century

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Victorian Rosewood Trinket Keepsake Box

From Past to Present

£145

3+ MONTHS AGO

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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.

19th century

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19th Century Sycamore Tunbridge Ware Box

From Walton House Antiques

£280

3+ MONTHS AGO

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Outstanding Quality Carved Black Forest Jewellery Box

19th century

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Outstanding Quality Carved Black Forest Jewellery Box

From Unique Antiques by Emma Jade

£565

3+ MONTHS AGO

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19th century

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Early 19th Century French Dragee Box

From Digby Antiques (Wiltshire)

£180

3+ MONTHS AGO

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Very Large & Impressive Chinese Cinnabar Lidded Box Qianlong / Jiaqing

18th century

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Very Large & Impressive Chinese Cinnabar Lidded Box Qianlong / Jiaqing

From Rams Head Antiques

£1,500

3+ MONTHS AGO

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Antique Coquilla Snuff Box - Nicely Carved

19th century

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Antique Coquilla Snuff Box - Nicely Carved

From Opus Antiques

£265

3+ MONTHS AGO

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Campaign Box Carved Gentleman's British Army Ww2 Regimental Arms

1900 - 1920

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Campaign Box Carved Gentleman's British Army Ww2 Regimental Arms

From The Real Wood Furniture Company

£616

3+ MONTHS AGO

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Antique Trinket Boxes

Erhard and Sohne Jugendstil Inlaid Jewellery Box Circa 1900

Larger Than Usual Art Deco Silver Box by Sigvard Bernadotte for Georg Jensen

Antique French Cobalt Blue Sevres Porcelain Jewellery Casket 19th C

Small Scandinavian Painted Box

Antique English Oak & Silver Box. Wooden Humidor Cigar Box. 1920.

19th Century Napoleonic War Prisoner of War Straw Work Box

An Unusual Georgian Semi-circular Box

A Rare Late 18th Century Miniature Oak Box.

Mappin & Webb Sterling Silver and Oak Cigar or Trinket Box

Victorian Rosewood Trinket Keepsake Box

19th Century Sycamore Tunbridge Ware Box

Outstanding Quality Carved Black Forest Jewellery Box

Early 19th Century French Dragee Box

Very Large & Impressive Chinese Cinnabar Lidded Box Qianlong / Jiaqing

Antique Coquilla Snuff Box - Nicely Carved

Campaign Box Carved Gentleman's British Army Ww2 Regimental Arms

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