Vintage or Antique? Seahorse? Bird? Wooden Jewelry Box?

Hello,

Am eager to find out about this thing, especially age and value. About 9" long and 1
lb. Thanks!

 

I'm wondering if it started out as one block of wood. Inspect the lid and the base. Do the wood grains match perfectly?

 

Looks like your hunch is correct, Roaring. It's not obvious at first as the red painted top has a bit of overlap and its share of nicks. But the grains on upper and lower pieces do appear to match.

 

To me, this is a nicer looking box and I would not pay more that $20 for it.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/ANTIQUE-CA...JEWELRY-FOLK-ART-SWIVEL-TOP-OLD-/362721572372

 

It looks like an Indian sindoor or kumkum box for coloured pigments. In which case a bird is more likely than a seahorse.
It isn't antique and doesn't look vintage either.

 

Hi @Any Jewelry normally would'nt they be smaller in size? Also the holes don't seem conducive for fingers to go in to put the sindhur on the finger. At 9inces i think its too big for a sindhoor box, but i could be wrong.

 

Hi Roshan. I must admit, I didn't convert the size (we're metric), but I just checked.
Yes, it could be a bit on the big side. Would the chunkiness allow for it being a bigger size? Or is it a spice box maybe?

 

I wonder if you could use this wood as a spice box. Seems unlikely given its different sized holes.
May be just some sort of decorative box ? or may be a betel nut box?

 

I think it was most likely sold as home decor.
It would be a bit awkward for betel as well.

The paint could be toxic, and reaction with some spice oils may be problem. But that doesn't matter if it is only meant to look pretty.

 

I hear you. I think I gave $3 on mine--$5 at most--at the local flea market.