A dreamy antique beauty with a charming scene of blue birds fluttering about a wildflower garden. Bamboo accents line the lower edge, while elaborate scrolls and abstract faces adorn the fancy feet. With a beveled glass top and elegant shape, this large box is an impressive showcase for your most treasured jewels and trinkets.
We imagine that this beautiful European box was originally made in France with a tufted silk cushion. The flat French blue interior is not original but was a lovely choice for refinishing (we cannot take credit; the box came to us this way).
Antique gilt metal and enamel paint. Not signed. Estimated late 1800's. Measures 13" long, 4.25" tall, 5.5" wide at feet, 4.5" wide at box body. Interior is just under 4" deep and 11-12.5" wide. Good antique condition with two chips to glass and scattered paint/gilding loss. Some tidbits of residual metal polish remain in crevices. (We removed as much as possible, taking care not to damage the piece.) Please examine photos and feel free to email us with any questions. Glass is loosely set in prongs; take care to close the lid gently. Clasp snaps shut. Lining is clean.
This delicate old beauty will be carefully shipped with extra insurance and signature required on delivery.
The whimsical colorful birds on this box may be an artistic representation of the European Robin, which is more grey and rust than blue/black and red. Perhaps the artist also took inspiration from North America's Eastern Bluebird, or Asia's Blue Pitta, both of which display feathers in blue and red tones. Wherever on the rainbow they fall, the color of a bird's feathers come from either pigments in the skin or feathers (one example being the red of a Northern Cardinal), or from light refracted by structure within the feather (an example being a Bluebird). Blue coloration in birds is nearly always the result of "tiny air pockets in the barbs of the feathers that scatter incoming light" (Cornell Bird Academy).
Feather & Foxglove shares a portion of profits to support environmental conservation and animal welfare.
