Personal effects box
Decorative wooden box approximately 15"W x 11" D x 6.5"H. The box has inlaid mother of pearl and is made with at least three different types of wood. I don't know what kind of wood.
This box was my grandmother's "footlocker" when she was in school. She was born in 1900 and went to a boarding school in Moscow through about 1917 while her parents were living in various places - her father was in the Tsarist military so was traveling regularly especially once revolution was in the air. The box was used to keep all her letters, personal effects and so on while at school. My grandmother brought this box with her when the immigrated to the US in 1934. The box has been in our family for as long as I remember (45+ years that I can personally remember. I didn't see any types of identifying marks on the box.
Inherited
No
Hi Vic,
Thank you for contacting Mearto with your appraisal inquiry.
The outside of this box looks like rosewood and mahogany. Boxes of this size could have had a variety of purposes, including humidor for cigars or cigarettes if it is lined with cedar, which usually has a fairly distinctive odor. I can't tell if the small inset rectangle in the center of the lid is ivory, brass or ??
Based on the photographs and information provided, and subject to examination, this is:
A Victorian ebony and mother-of-pearl inlaid rosewood and mahogany document or valuables box
Continental, mid 19th Century
The hinged domed lid inset with a small rectangle of mother-of-pearl surrounded by a border of ebony and mother-of-pearl, the box with chamfered corners.
6 1/2 inches high, 11 inches wide, 5 inches deep
CONDITION: wear commensurate with age and use; key lacking.
PROVENANCE: inherited
$400-600*
*represents a fair-market value for auction purposes; retail or asking price may vary.
I've added a few things to the appraisal, including a note on the missing key.
Thank you for the quick appraisal. The small rectangle in the center is also mother of pearl. It's not lined with cedar so I wouldn't expect that is was a humidor. Also note, I don't have the key for the lock.