Antique Tortoisehell ??? & Etched Brass Box ID Help???

It is 8-1/4" x 3-1/2" x 5" high...Leather lined...Any help appreciated.

 

Sorry I can't help with an id, but it looks as though it may have held decanters at one time.....there is a name for that form that is escaping me at the moment...............may-hap someone with a complete thought process will be along to assist????

 

Tantalus Set

 

Thank you, Person With Complete and Cognoscente Thought Process...................

 

that don't look like no tortoise shell i ever seen....

 

I agree Komo, I didn't think it was either.

 

The brass pieces on the front and sides appear to be commercial die stamped,the lid looks like it was cast and a few accent lines scratched on to it.The surface looks like faux tortoise shell "paint" which has been around since at least the 1870's.

 

It isn't tortoiseshell, but it isn't a paint effect either - look at those edges and the grain repeat. There's an exotic wood that looks like this, but my brain has lost the name.

Not a tantalus. Nor is it for tea. I suspect it held something like cologne bottles.

Late 19th, Anglo Indian/Colonial.

 

Is it coromandel wood?

 

Yes, certainly is, and my addled brain thanks you. Very typically used for Indian Colonial and Anglo Indian boxes. The brass work is nicely done too.

I do think this once held three good cut crystal boxes for a chap's toilette, although some are described as being for letters.

I can't find a comparable one with a pierced lid, but there's a fair few coromandel and brass boxes out there. It's quite a valuable little thing, that.

 

Wonder if it was meant to hold a book (small bible) or documents.

What does the inside look like. I would think if there were bottles, that the sides would be scuffed from bottle being pulled in and out.

 

looks like this......lots of inside edge scuffing.....

 

That's the edge, consistent with a book going in and out.
The inside should have indentations or scratches up the sides from bottles going up and down, then sitting.

 

wouldn't that be a lot of scuffing....for just a book to do...???

 

Thanks,for all of your help!!....The inside is leather & most of the scuffing is on the top edges...It is only 5" high,so I think it might have held bottles..What still puzzles me is the pierced lid??

 

whatever was in there...air, and dust and atmospheric conditions were not a factor....
hard to say it would have been a precious book !

 

That's why I think bottles. I don't think function will affect value - you'd be looking at the three hundred dollar or more mark here.

 

In my view, English, date 1860-1880, coromandel wood veneered, as to use, I don't think it was a tantalus or held any other bottles as it would have made an impression on the leather, I collect boxes but I'll have to admit I have never seen one exactly like that although the pierced and chased brass and coromandel wood was very common in high end boxes......BTW very nice box

 

Hi,
When I first glanced at the picture, the first thought came into my mind was: 1961 fire blazed plywood. We used to do a lot of "antiquing" plywood that looked just like the box. Coromandel was what it looked like. Not that we were trying to imitate the wood it just happened to look that way.
greg