"The Wrong Box" was a hilarious British film comedy, The Christmas Box, a best-selling book of loss and remembrance. Then there’s the robin’s-egg blue Tiffany gift box, sometimes prized as much as its contents. Boxes are intriguing, none more so than the decorative wooden ones crafted in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries that were once used for everything from tea to toiletries.

Seldom used in the capacity for which they were initially created, these boxes are now highly coveted by both collectors and those with an eye for elegant accessories. By itself, an antique box might be used to store favorite bonbons or billets-doux, or as a handsome counterpoint to a covey of crystal or porcelain figures. In small clusters, antique boxes are decorative accents for tables, mantelpieces and sideboards. In the past two decades, prices for the finer examples have escalated 10 to 20 times over, and in recent years have steadily gained about 10 percent annually.

"Their glowing woods and interesting shapes" are just two of the reasons buyers are so entranced, says Sally Kaltman of Sallea Antiques, New Canaan, Connecticut, a major resource for antique boxes. "There’s also that adorable little mystery of what’s inside." She points out, for example, a circa-1830 marquetry cosmetics box of rosewood inset with lemonwood floral decorations, which has all of its original fittings: ivory-handled combs and brushes, as well as blue opaline glass jars with silver-gilt caps. What’s more, it’s also a music box. The price for this harmonious assemblage is: $8,900. Another piece, albeit now empty, is an 1845 example crafted of French burl inlaid with a Greek key design of brass, ebony, kingwood and abalone shell. Originally used as a glove box, it is signed Tahan Paris and tagged at $1,350. "English makers usually didn’t sign their boxes, but the French often did," Kaltman notes. Along with Tahan, P. (for Paul) Sormani is another top signature. "Signed boxes generally bring a premium," she adds.

Some of the most charming decorative boxes, relatively small in size and exquisitely rendered in fine woods, are tea caddies. Of these, English pieces in the form of apples and pears made from about 1780 into the early 1800s are the sine qua non to compleat collectors, according to Kaltman. Appropriately made of fruitwood, these items—about an inch or so taller and wider than edible varieties—run $4,000 to $9,000. Conversely, rare melon shapes, smaller than their natural counterparts, bring as much as $15,000. A less-than-life-sized Japanese box in the silhouette of an eggplant also was recently on display at Sallea. Priced at $11,000, the screw-top box dating from 1800 was of a rich, dark Asian wood that had an almost aubergine cast to it.

"About 60 percent of our business relates to tea caddies," notes Tony Stone, co-eponym of June and Tony Stone, London, who offer boxes at a number of American antiques shows. "These have really rocketed in prices." The most beautiful tea caddies, according to Stone, were made in England between 1773 and 1833. "Tea was very costly; only the rich could afford it," he says. "In 1833, the British government slashed taxes on tea and it moved from the drawing room into the kitchen." While the Stones offer tea caddies for as little as $500, a particularly alluring circa-1775 item in satinwood embellished with fine marquetry sells for $17,500. It has three canisters, Stone says: "One for green tea, another for black and a section in the middle for sugar."

Noting the multifarious categories of boxes, from knife boxes to humidors, sewing boxes to writing slopes, Stone observes, "hardly any serve their original function." There are some, however, which—like defunct railroad stations—have been adapted to new uses.

Citing lap desks, or writing slopes, which first appeared around 1810 as essential equipment for itinerant military officers, Stone notes, "they soon became popular with all travelers and remained so until about 1890. What happened then? The typewriter appeared. Now we have this," he says, tapping a forefinger on his laptop computer. When closed, early campaign-style writing slopes are perfectly rectangular. Of mahogany, rosewood, amboyna or walnut, they’re usually banded in brass. Today these handsome pieces have found a serviceable afterlife. Mounted on small stands, they’re inducted as stylish little end tables for drinks or snacks. These sell largely for $2,000 to $7,000, potables and comestibles not included.

"We used to do a ‘box show’ every year," says Melinda Papp of Florian Papp, a New York dealer in 18th- and 19th-century English and Continental furniture and accessories. "Now, it’s become too difficult to amass a large selection—and maintain design and quality standards—without charging five-digit prices." Nonetheless, Papp always has some distinctive specimens. A 13-inch-tall Swiss walnut and boxwood "puzzle box," circa 1880, with a carved motif of lissome foliage is surmounted with a snoozing lion. Tagged at $1,850, it has a secret opening mechanism that reveals an interior of small drawers, each with its own hidden release.

"The workmanship is extraordinary," Papp says. "Antique boxes, in a way, are fascinating time capsules. They reveal the fashions, cultural influences and economies of their times."

Dick Kagan is an Art & Antiques New York correspondent.

 

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For More Information:
Florian Papp, New York. 212.288.6770.
Sallea Antiques, New Canaan, Conn. 203.972.1050.
June & Tony Stone, London. 011.44.77.6838.2424.

Exhibiting at Palm Beach/ America’s Fine Art and Antique Fair, West Palm Beach, Fla., February 5–13; and New York Armory Antiques & Design Show, March 9–13.