I love a chip-carved tramp art box with lots of stacked layers, but I also love a more unusual hand-carved box with a tramp-y flavor, which is how I think of this one. The interlacing/braided/lattice pattern is all hand-done, quite a skillful and laborious effort, then painted gold, which is still bright but mellowed some over what I’d guess is about 100 years. The interior is lined in what appears to be hand-printed paper, with a silver and gold pattern that is such a perfect complement to the exterior I wonder if it might have inspired it. The box closes flush and tight with the prongs on the lid fitting into the holes on the lower edge and clicking shut; there is no longer a key and it does not lock, but it does takes the right touch to pull it open again, but once one gets it, it opens just fine. A really nice combination of elegant and folky I think, and large enough to hold all sorts of things.
11 5/8” w x 7” d x 6 1/8” t and in very good condition. It looks like there were once two sets of two hinges on the back side, but now just a pair, which are well attached.
