Inlaid Rosewood Jewellery – Fitted Dressing Box

Please see my stock page for the largest selection of jewellery boxes available on this website. Inlaid rosewood box made during the William IV – very early Victorian period. No missing or replaced veneer. Unspoilt patina. Intricate Mother of Pearl inlays surrounding the small cartouche and key hole complemented by inlays to the edges set within twin strips of inlaid pewter (often referred to as ‘white metal’). There has slight restoration to the surrounds to the keyhole….literally surrounding the key hole only and a Tiny degree of inlay to the bottom right corner of the surround of the top centre inlay. The lid closes perfectly square. Original hinges and lock, key for decorative purposes only. The lid interior features the original embossed leather panel to the lid with the original swing clasp that when released allows the panel to fold forward to access a ‘love letter’ envelope. The leather front, is free of any tears and the envelope looks to be in unused condition with the bonus of the two side folds still being fully intact. The base section comprises of a removable tray with storage space beneath with all of the original lining in remarkable condition. The tray has all of the original dividers. Both side hoop handles are original as is the padded velvet section, small leather ‘wallet’, centre leather lid with all of the retaining hoops fully intact. The tray also still has the original Solid rosewood box with a sliding lid in excellent condition. Though such boxes cannot be considered as being a very rare feature it was certainly a rare feature on later boxes and few have survived in such excellent condition. To the rear of the tray are two open sections with the original embossed leather lid with original ring pull to a central storage section. All leather throughout the box is in excellent condition. The 5 containers and the Mother of Pearl handle accessories came with the box thus stay with it. It is impossible to state which if any are original. One of the matching set of the Mother of Pearl handles has part of the handle missing. The two large jars and the rectangular container have silver plated lids with no wear through of the plating and are in very fine condition. The two small containers are different but both are once again in very good condition. The vast majority of antique dressing boxes are nowadays stripped of their contents and adapted to serve as jewellery boxes. It is a pity that the containers, lids and often dividers are removed when they are sometimes still in very good condition. As this box stands it would make an excellent jewellery box with the original fittings, unusual rosewood box etc. The jars could be simply removed and stored….That way the antique is preserved and if a consideration…the investment potential retained.