Antique French porcelain and gilt bronze master snuff or valuables box, the hinged top depicting a pastoral scene with classic figures of lovers, the sides with raised acanthus leaf decoration. Possibly, Sevres. France, circa 1850. Dimensions: 4.5" diameter x 1.5" H.

Antique Chinese hand-hammered brass valuables box with hinged cover. Lined with camphor wood; mounted on amber glass bead shape feet; decorated with carved jade applique panels depicting foo dogs and a carved jade medallion top (the medallion having an old repair). China, circa 1880. Dimensions: 5.5" W x 3.5" H x 3.75" D.

Japanese lacquer small cabinet, or sage-dansu, Edo period,early to mid 19th century. Rectangular form, with two hinged doors opening to 7 drawers of 3 sizes. The box is decorated in gold taka-maki, kira-maki, togidashi, and kirigane, with recessed panels of insects and glass-eyed birds among wisteria and chrysanthemums; the interior is similarly decorated on a mura-nashiji ground, silvered copper mounts. Measures 15.75 inches wide by 8.75 inches deep and 17.5 inches high. Some old restoration. The back of the box bears an old label marked No. 5.

Beautiful vintage hand painted paper mache box made by the Ali Brothers, Hassan Abad, Srinagar 190003, Kashmir, India, 4th quarter 20th century. Measures 6.5 inches long, 4 inches wide and 2 inches high. Excellent condition, painted with pink, blue and yellow over a gold and black ground. Papier mache or paper mache is derived from French meaning 'chewed paper'. Paper Mache is a composite material consisting of paper pulp reinforced with some adhesive which hardens upon drying and then is painted upon. Paper Mache was introduced in Kashmir by the Persian Mystic Mir Syed Ali Hamdani, popularly known as Shah-i-Hamdan in Kashmir. It is believed that during his visit to Kashmir, the Shah was accompanied by a host of craftsmen who were favored by the local court of the Sultan of Kashmir, Zain-ul-Abidin. After time the art and craft that was ancestral to these artisans from Persia and Central Asia started to flourish in the vale of Kashmir.

Rare antique calamander wood dome top tea caddy with brass fittings. Made in England c1850. Measures 8.75 inches wide by 4.75 inches deep by 6.5 inches high. Calamander wood, aka coromandel wood, is a valuable wood from Sri Lanka (Ceylon) and other parts of South East Asia. It is hazel-brown with black stripes, very heavy and hard. It is also called macassar ebony or variegated ebony, and is closely related to genuine ebony, but is obtained from different species in the same genus. Coromandel wood has been logged to extinction over the last 2 to 3 hundred years and is no longer available. Macassar ebony has similar characteristics but it lacks the depth of color of genuine coromandel.