Sewing box 

jewelry-boxes

tea caddies

Anglo-Indian

Chinese- export

penwork

Tunbridgeware

papier-mâché

Snuff boxes 

terms

Advanced Search

Youtube Channel

contents

Description:
Ref: 693JBTum http://hygra.com/box/693JBTum 

Rosewood Tunbridge ware box of Egyptian inspired sarcophagus form, the lid with a cavetto molding. The sides and top are inlaid with parquetry   created by the stickware method. The inside of the box which has a lift-out tray has been relined with velvet and hand made paper making the box ideal for jewelry. The box stands  on turned solid rosewood feet. Circa 1820.

Origin: ;  Circa: 1820; Materials: Rosewood and other hard-woods on a pine structure.

Size: 26 cm wide by 20.5  cm by 15.5 cm:  10.2 inches wide by  8.1  inches by 6.1  inches.

Condition: good overall; working lock and key;  There are some small restorations to the mosaic. See images.

Keywords: Tunbridge ware, stickware, inlay, parquetry, marquetry,  mosaic, antique, antique box, rosewood, 

Request current  list of available sewing boxes with prices.
Request current  list of available writing boxes with prices.
Request current  list of available jewelry boxes with prices.
Request current  list of available tea caddies with prices.

boxes@hygra.com

http://www.hygra.com/material.htm#tun 

The geometric design was created by the stickware method. This was the gluing and binding together of triangular sticks of wood in contrasting colours, which were made into rods usually about 8 inches in length. The rods were then sliced into transverse sections and used as as here as decorative veneers of small geometric patterns. 

Rosewood, maple, ebony, and palm, are present in this mosaic. 

 

Technically this process required expert handling. The sticks had to be glued very close together and be kept in a straight line. Building up of the block often took considerable time with each layer allowed to set before the next layer was added. Hot animal glue was used to glue the bundles of sticks together. At least twelve hours were allowed for the liquid to be absorbed into the wood, so that the wooden components became a stable entity. Each block was kept to no more than about seven inches long, to avoid wavering. In order to be able to apply maximum pressure, each small bundle was bound with wet string which tightened as it dried. The slicing of the block into veneers had to be carefully done, so as to avoid the parts separating. The block was sliced with a saw, each inch yielding at best, eight slices of veneer, and some sawdust waste. The resulting pieces of veneer were then inlaid, or simply stuck side by side on the pine carcass of the box, to form the required design.

There is so much work to create this inlay. Blocks have been made, "logs": end grained to appear, as here, end grain palm was exciting the crafts-person, at this time probably a craftsman!  This is all a record of work.

It is interesting to look at the differences between the different slices of the same "log".

Cutting a log must have been stressful. How many slices could you achieve! 

Sometimes the palm-wood is "enhanced"   the capillary action of the wood exploited for its natural ability to draw a liquid up through it. The artist introduced a colour (a dye) or  magic.

The palm-wood is the maple/ boxwood yellow (in wood) colour, with dots of dark. 

The dots of dark could be manipulateted.

This is work intensive.  It is not surprising that boxes with this type of inlay were only made for a short time. 

Little boxes with a token  of the stickware were made and sold by  Edmund Nye who was at Mount Ephraim and Parade. in Tunbridge Wells in the second quarter of the 19th C.

See www.hygra.com/book 

The customers were not appreciating how many hours of their fellow humans time was in the object. 

Large stickware boxes like this are rare. Badly kept they would just fall apart.

I like the feet too. Turned, polished on the lathe. The little collar so elegant is created by the turner, another craft, using a specially shaped  chisel. Specially made tools were needed for each job. All of these boxes are unique.

The inside of the box which has a lift-out tray has been relined with velvet and hand made paper making the box ideal for jewelry.

The same wood selection has been used to decorate the top. The elements are though of a different shape.

The grain pattern of the rosewood is particularly beautiful. 

As the century progressed smaller pieces of wood were used to compose the parquetry. These were prepared in bundles and cut transversely so as to form veneers of parquetry.

In the first decades of the 19th century, what happened in the Tunbridge area was exactly the opposite of the trend in the rest of the country. While certain strong stylistic influences were dictating both the type of decoration, and the materials to be used in cabinet making throughout England , this small corner of Kent developed its style from the available materials. The Tunbridge ware makers recognized the natural beauty of wood. They realized that by juxtaposing natural figure, color, and striation, they could achieve striking effects without the need of any other form of decoration.

The inside of the box has been relined with velvet and paper making it ideal for jewelry.

It was the unparalled range of woods used, and the masterly way in which the timbers were selected and combined, that makes boxes decorated in this way, unmistakably recognizable as Tunbridge ware.

Rosewood, maple, ebony, and palm, are present in this mosaic.