Art Deco Cigarette Box
These art deco cigarette box pieces bring geometric elegance and period charm to any table, offering a tangible slice of twentieth-century design.
Art Deco Cigarette Box
An art deco cigarette box is a smoking accessory or decorative container designed during the modernist period of the nineteen twenties, thirties, and forties. These vessels served both a domestic function on tables and a personal one for holding tobacco.
Origins span English workshops, French studios, and Austrian makers, reflecting a wide geographical spread of modernist design. Collectors encounter both plain silver utility pieces and elaborate decorative objects incorporating semi-precious materials.
Materials and Techniques
Silversmiths utilised sterling silver and solid silver for hinged table boxes, often applying hallmarks to record assay offices and years. Metalworkers also worked with brass, chrome, pewter, and silvered metal to achieve clean, industrial lines.
Cabinetmakers combined wood bases with exotic veneers such as burr walnut and macassar ebony. Artisan makers integrated luxury details including white onyx, lapis lazuli, malachite, agate, shagreen, bone, and enamel into the metal frames.
Art Deco Cigarette Box Retail Price Guide 2026
Typical asking prices for art deco cigarette box among the pieces listed under this phrase on Sellingantiques today, from the lower quarter to the upper quarter. They describe what is for sale here now, not the wider market.
A few novelty pieces take the whimsical form of a musical grand piano, a Scottie dog, or a crocodile.
Assessing Quality and Execution
Quality rests upon the weight of the metal, the precision of the joinery, and the integrity of any fitted stone or veneer. Substantial gauge silver and tightly fitted hinges distinguish better pieces from lighter alternatives.
The reputation of the maker, such as Mappin and Webb or Alfred Dunhill, elevates a piece through superior finishing and refined proportions. The choice of decorative inlays, from genuine lapis lazuli to fine shagreen, further defines the upper tier of the range.
Mappin and Webb·William Comyns and Sons Ltd·Henry Griffiths·Alfred Dunhill·Adie Brothers
The Art Deco Cigarette Box Glossary
- Sterling silver
- An alloy of silver containing ninety-two point five percent by mass of silver and seven point five percent by mass of other metals, usually copper. This standard metal appears frequently across English table boxes.
- Shagreen
- Untanned raw hide, traditionally from the skin of a shark or ray, dyed and used as a luxury covering. It provides a distinctive textured surface on modernist boxes.
- Onyx
- A banded variety of oxide mineral quartz that yields smooth, polished stone panels. It forms the body of architectural boxes from the period.
- Macassar ebony
- A heavily figured tropical hardwood with dark brown and warm yellow stripes. Makers utilised its veneer for contrasting geometric patterns on wooden boxes.
- Hallmark
- An official stamp applied to precious metals indicating standard of purity, maker, and assay office. These marks allow precise dating of silver pieces.
Art Deco Cigarette Box: Frequently Asked Questions
What were these boxes originally used for?
These boxes held cigarettes or cigars on dining tables, desks, and smoking rooms for guests and residents.
They kept tobacco protected from moisture while offering a decorative ornament for the interior.
How do I know if a box is genuine?
Examine the piece for period construction methods, appropriate materials like sterling silver, onyx, or shagreen, and authentic maker marks or hallmarks.
Silver examples will typically display clear stamps corresponding to London, Birmingham, Sheffield, or foreign assay offices from the decades around nineteen thirty.
Can these hold modern cigarette packets?
Most of these vintage containers were sized for historical cigarette dimensions or loose tobacco rather than modern manufactured cartons.
Buyers often utilise them today as trinket boxes, desk tidies, or card cases rather than for daily smoking use.
How should I clean a silver box?
Use a soft cloth and a gentle, non-abrasive silver polish to maintain the shine without wearing away fine details or hallmarks.
Avoid harsh chemical dips, especially on pieces that combine silver with delicate stone panels, wood veneers, or organic materials like shagreen and bone.