Engraved Box, Silver, Córdoba, Spain, 1793, with Hallmarks

Box. Silver. Córdoba, Diego de la Vega y Torres, 1806. With contrast marks. Oval box with flat lid made of silver in its color and decorated on the outside ...

Oval box. Silver, 19th centu. With contrast marks. Oval box with flat lid made of silver, partially gilded, decorated on the outside with figurative scenes ...

Salt or spice shaker. Silver. Lizasoain. Spain, Madrid, 1768. With contrast markings. Silver spice rack in its color with a frustoconical body, sinuou...

Spice rack. Silver. DE CASTRO, Damian. SANCHEZ SOTO, Juan. Spain, Córdoba, second half of the 18th century. With contrast markings. Silver spice rack in its color with a frustoco...

Silver writing set. With hallmarks. Córdoba, Antonio José de Santa Cruz (Córdoba, 1733 -?) and Juan de Luque and Leiva, Spain, 1773. It shows some fault in some container and adds b...

Heart-shaped spice. Silver. LOPEZ PORTER, Manuel. Spain, Granada, 1870. With contrasting and burilada marks. Silver spice rack in its color with a heart shaped shape and curved spout to one side that has two hinged lids and three spaces inside (partition above and not below); It is supported by three legs decorated with classicist elements and has, towards the side, a series of fine smooth moldings. The hallmarks are those corresponding to Granada, to date, and to the silversmith Manuel López Portero, who also worked as hallmarks in the city. The shape of the piece does not follow the usual prototypes of the time or of the school to which it corresponds (a heart shaped silver box...

Lovely sterling silver keepsake box. Rectangular with straight sides. Cover hinged and tabbed. Cover top has engraved border with dense and overlap...

Antique Persian silver box. The box is beautifully chased, engraved and decorated with birds, animals and foliage. Circa 1900.      

1950s Spanish lapislazuli top trinket metal box with engraved geometric decoration.

A silver gilt and jewelled pill box probably Austrian but with English import marks for London, 1905. Very fine quality with the silver gilt completely intact and mint within the box...

Decorate a shelf or a counter with this elegant antique decorative trunk. Crafted in Spain circa 1880, the strong box is decorated with pierced and engraved geometric motifs througho...

Offered is a stunning silver plated keepsake box dating to 1900, with associated hallmark. This small box includes a wooden interior with two slots and a blank square on top where initials could have been engraved. A well maintained, elegant piece, this antique silver box is an excellent addition to any silver or home decor collection. Trinket or keepsake boxes have taken on many forms since their first conception in ancient times. However their purpose remains the same; to store jewelry and other items precious to the owner. Originally, these boxes were used specifically for jewelry. These were in common use as early as 5000 BC in Ancient Egypt, when the majority of Egyptians, both male and female, wore jewelry. Boxes were used to keep these gemstone encrusted items safe. In Ancient Rome, jewelry was a status symbol. Rings and brooches were utilized to represent ones status in society. Again, boxes were needed for security and storage purposes. Finding early examples of these are quite rare. Victorian and Edwardian examples of trinket boxes are far more common. This is because owning jewellery was a luxury until the Victorian era- let alone possessing so much a box was needed to store it all. Fine jewelry and other items became available to the masses after the industrial revolution due to the reduction in production costs. This led to a demand for trinket boxes, which were much smaller than jewelry boxes and therefore better suited to the needs of the middle class who did not yet possess an abundance of jewelry. In Victorian households, collectables and other items of interested were also stashed inside these boxes. This is why they are known as trinket or keepsake boxes, rather than just jewelry boxes, although of course jewelry was also stored in them. Trinket boxes were produced in large numbers around this time. Many were lined with colored plush or velvet or rich wood. More elaborate designs had interior divisions and trays for rings and other pieces of jewellery. It was also common to see trinket boxes so small that they could only contain one item, such as a single ring. Ornate exteriors were created to reflect the value of the trinket boxes contents. The Edwardian era saw the introduction of new styles of trinket box. These included small circular or oblong boxes...