Sewing box 

jewelry-boxes

tea caddies

Anglo-Indian

Chinese- export

penwork

Tunbridgeware

papier-mâché

Snuff boxes 

terms

Advanced Search

Youtube Channel

contents

Description:
Ref: 691JBcab: http://hygra.com/box/691JBCAB 

An impeccably made,  high quality, William IV, fully fitted, figured rosewood,  table cabinet of architectural form, profusely  inlaid with mother of pearl depicting stylized flowers on the top,  and on the doors depiction of perched birds of prey.  
The top compartment, which is all original with canary yellow silk is fitted for sewing;  it  retains its period mother of pearl topped spools and tools. 
The doors  have fielded panels framed with turned gadrooning. The Inside of the doors  has fielded embossed maroon Morocco leather panels. 
The doors open to  three drawers with turned mother of pearl handles and accents.  The bottom drawer is a writing box ; the middle is fitted for jewelry and has a lift out tray.  The silks and leather are all original. The top drawer is empty and lined with its original yellow paper.  The cabinet combines sewing box, jewelry box and intimate writing box. It was a locked personal space.  Circa 1835.

Origin: UK ;  Circa: 1835; Materials: Rosewood, mother of pearl, silk, leather.

Size: 30.5 cm wide by 21  cm by 29  cm:  12  inches wide by  8.3  inches by  11.4 inches.

Condition: good original overall; working lock and key; see images

Keywords: Compendium, table cabinet, Sewing cabinet, Writing box, Jewelry box, mother of pearl, inlay, cabinet making, architectural form, gadrooning, fielded panels, morocco leather, 

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

The compendium is  the personal space for the owner and has a fully fitted sewing tray complete with its original thread spools, drawers for jewelry, and a folding writing box  with  Sheffield-plate toped inkwells .

Detail of the top: the architectural shape is emphasized by the turned gadrooning and the cavetto molding. 

Mother of pearl is by its nature difficult to work with. It is brittle needing support when  cut. The individual pieces are also small.

Here the pieces have been fretted with precision to convey the fluidity of the plant life depicted.

Detail: 
the doors have fielded panels framed by turned gadrooning and inlaid  with mother of pearl depictions of birds of prey. 

The birds  are finely executed  and almost heraldic in their treatment. 

The wings are particularly notable being made with several pieces of mother of pearl. This type of work was time consuming to make. 

The top of the writing box and the inside of the doors are covered in gold and blind embossed Morocco leather. 

The embossing depicts  classical inspired stylized flowers.  

The box retains its associated  Sheffield plate topped  inkwells.

The lids match but the  bottle on the left is molded glass where that on the right has facets cut into the shoulders. They are both period.

The writing surface is covered with embossed velvet.

The top of the writing box and the inside of the doors are covered in gold and blind embossed Morocco leather. The embossing depicts  classical inspired stylized flowers.  

The bottom drawer is a complete writing box with embossed velvet writing tablet. It is in immaculate condition having a pentray, and original inkwells.

The middle drawer is fitted for jewelry. It has a lift-out tray lined with cream coloured silk. The divisions are covered in maroon Morocco  leather.

The lower part is divided in three.

The top compartment is fitted for sewing. It has a set of mother of pearl top spools , matching waxer and  tape measure. 

The supplementary lids are covered with bright yellow silk. 

The lid has a document wallet which opens down. 

A central panel of ruched canary yellow silk is framed. 

 There is a document wallet in the lid.

The spools are of the later type, after 1830, with metal slip on stems. They are made to fit wooden thread spools.

The mother of pearl tops are turned , carved , and pierced.

The work is akin to jewelry making.

A

The rosewood has throughout got a good figure which contrasts with the iridescence of the mother of pearl inlay.

The fretting has been cut by hand with a fine piercing saw. Details such as the petals are achieved by fine saw cuts in the rosewood. This is an example of fine quality work and was time consuming to achieve.

The cabinet has  turned rosewood ring handles .  These are fragile(!) it is not a good idea to use them to actually carry or lift the cabinet. 

The bottom drawer is a complete writing box with embossed velvet writing tablet. It is in immaculate condition having a pentray, and original inkwells.

There is a compartment for paper under the writing surface.

See: http://www.hygra.com/cabinets.htm 

and Figure 524 Antique Boxes, Tea Caddies, and Society -- 1700--1880, ISBN: 0764316885  Antigone Clarke & Joseph O'Kelly, A Schiffer Book for collectors..