Featured Ivory inlaid box, Spanish? Indian? Date?

Thank you, sorry I know this thread is ages old but I couldn't think of any other easier way I could perhaps bump into someone from the Americas who would know about Spanish colonial antiques.
The Box it's on is a large hoshiarpur dressing box from the 1850's

 

Really no need to apologize (I didn’t mean it negatively) Happy this interesting thread is revived. Very cool box that. Also looking forward to learn more. Hopefully the mystery gets solved. Thanks for the info on the dressing box.

 

Bingo https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/unicorn-mother-mary-antique-coca-tea-169076633 Still don't know the date

 

I'd like to see another in that shape. All the other coqueras I see on the internet are simpler and shell-shaped. Like this one.

Debora

 

I agree they are but I found the above box (same as mine) by seeing the same lock, hinges, and pots with flowers decoration on this box https://jaimeeguiguren.com/artworks/categories/4/9437-coca-box-coquera-18th-century/
and just typed in coquera and found one almost the same as mine. I still don't know the date and I can't see what it sold for

 

In ‘The Colonial Andes: Tapestries and Silverwork, 1530-1830’, Johanna Hecht notes that, unlike the silver coqueras which were made in a wide variety of forms, wooden coqueras tended to follow a design prototype: ‘the sides are densely covered with applied “cookie-cutter” relief, whose surfaces are textured with regular incisions following the form of foliate ornament, while the cockle-shell shaped hinged cover is formed by radiating gadroons … [which can be].. lent variety by other designs that are interspersed among the plain convex tongues, such as strips of rocaille foliate carving.’ Hecht illustrates a comparable coquera of similar design, also believed to originate from Moxos or Chiquitos and dated circa 1775, which is housed in the collection of the Museo de Arte de Lima (see image below). She comments that: ‘Most wood coqueras are either flat or stand on silver ball-feet. The distinctive aspect of this piece lies in the integration of its four wooden feet, formed of winged cherubs’ (ibid, p.342). Our coquera shares this unusual form, being supported by three wooden feet in the shape of mythological female creatures.

 

the story sounds a bit "over the edge", even made up.

 

"The estate" sounds American, I suppose it depends on value and value is something I haven't a clue on. The way they are describing it sounds like an old master painting lol. I live in the UK and I got this box from a US seller in the US, I didn't pay a lot and it's description didn't match the photos so I took a punt. I have many boxes from all over the world and experience has taught me what to look for, some things are impossible to fake and this box has more than one pointing to 100's of years of existence. Normally a box of that age from Europe in this condition would make a lot of money so the old master description isn't out of place. I'm satisfied it is a coquera, I have been researching this box on and off for years and I knew is was old but hadn't a clue what to type in to get similar items. I will say I'm always open to a more persuasive view as in this game lots of people can be wrong (that's how I've got many fantastic objects for next to no money) But after years of looking this has satisfied my itch.

 

I'm not sure about the wooden box and the cheap fixation of the lid on the back.
the lock may be old and reused.
PS. found what I slightly remembered from Palermo, but has nothing to do with this here.

 

I get that finding something close to what I have is hard but the inlay on my box is done with skill and ivory. This is hard to do, who ever did it was trained and experienced, not just somebody trying to fake it. The wood (on the bottom) has deep ridges where the grain has stayed and the wood between the grain has shrunk back (hard to explain) but this is only found on very old cut wood. When I got the box someone (probably the seller) had covered the whole box (not the bottom) in a brown stained wax polish, this has fed the wood on the rest of the box but they should have used just normal beeswax clear polish. I have owned the box for a number of years and haven't questioned the age (I know it's old) I have so many antiques, faking wood is close to impossible, especially when you have the item in your hand. When I type in "coquera" into google images I only get 8 or 9 different wooden ones and one seems almost the same as mine and the others have a shell pattern on the top (if you look at mine it is also done in a scalloped shell pattern) with " foliate ornament" on the sides and the lock, hinges, and inlay have similarities with the other known examples. Anyway I really don't have any other credible alternative, I'm happy to consider any evidence to the contrary. At a guess I would say the box above is Spanish and 16th c? but it's not my field.

 

Looking at the photos I've posted I can perhaps see why it's in question. These Facebook photos are better https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=781685912666384&set=pcb.781688539332788

 

Your box is in pristine condition but the lock shows a great deal of erosion. Not sure how that could happen.

Debora

 

Not that it matters to me but I think you are saying the lock has been taken off an old box and put on a new box?
Seems strange that the example here https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/unicorn-mother-mary-antique-coca-tea-169076633
has the exact same lock on the exact same box.

 

Not saying anything really. Just raising what to my eye appears to be an incongruity.

Debora

 

I'm amazed you can't see the correlation and as for pristine wood I would hardly call it pristine but we are all welcome to an opinion no matter how ill-judged.

 

Why don't you contact an expert in the field of Colonial South American art? Here's someone, for instance, who should be able to give you definitive answers.

https://www.denverartmuseum.org/en/collection/latin-american-art

Debora

 

Debora, I'm sure you didn't look to see if the institution you recommended actually had a coquera, I'm pleased to inform you they do but I'm not sure you will believe them because their wooden coquera is in far better condition than mine and looks nothing like the well know examples https://www.denverartmuseum.org/search?search_api_fulltext=coquera

 

I did contact the Denver art museum via their Facebook site, unfortunately they didn't want to help directly. I asked "Hi I wonder if you could please help? I see you have in your collection a coquera. I have owned an art box for a number of years and haven't been able to find out what it is or when it was made, I now think it might be a coquera. I live in the UK and don't really have any source of looking such things up here. I wonder if you could please tell me if it is and what date? Here is a Facebook link to detailed photos, Thank you in advance This was their reply.

"Hi there, Thank you for reaching out. In general, Denver Art Museum curators do not perform authentications, verifications, appraisals or valuations; we recommend you contact a certified appraiser. Though we cannot provide specific referrals, we can provide contact information for the three national associations of appraisers to assist in your research. The American Society of Appraisers, 1-800-272-8258 or ASAinfo@appraisers.org Website: www.appraisers.org Appraisers Association of America, 212-889-5404 x10 or aaa@appraisersassoc.org Website: www.appraisersassoc.org International Society of Appraisers, 312-981-6778 or isa@isa-appraisers.org Website: www.isa-appraisers.org/ You can also try www.eppraisals.com for a lower cost, do-it-yourself alternative. Checking an auction resource like Christie’s (www.christies.com) or Sotheby’s (www.sothebys.com), or online sources such as www.ebay.com, www.artprice.com, www.askart.com or www.artnet.com may help you learn more about the value of your object. Please note that several of these websites require a paid membership in order to access auction results. Best, Jena, Communications Department.

 

raver, you could try the Pedro de Osma Museum in Lima, Peru. They have an important collection of colonial art and artifacts.

At the bottom of the page are contact details:
https://museopedrodeosma.org/en/cursos-2021/