Wholesale Ebonized Compartmented Collector's Box, Hand-Painted Gold Dragonflies, c. Mid-20th Century

The Piece A striking lidded box in ebonized black, hand-painted at each corner with a gold dragonfly in flight and finished with brass corner brackets, a brass latch, and a slim support chain that holds the lid open. Lift the lid and the interior reveals its purpose: a fitted tray divided into a grid of small compartments — made to sort and hold small treasures, whether loose-leaf teas, spices, jewelry, coins, crystals, or collected curiosities. The black surface carries the honest scuffs and rubbing of a well-handled object, its gold dragonflies still catching the light. Tucked inside the lid is a handwritten note from a previous owner recording its story: "Handmade by [an] 89-year-old English Lord." Unverified, but the kind of romance that clings to a genuinely handmade thing — and part of what you're taking home with it. History & Provenance The dragonfly — a favorite of Art Nouveau and Japonisme designers alike — carried associations of transformation and fleeting summer light, and here it's rendered by hand rather than stamped by a factory. Everything about the box speaks to individual craft: the brushed gold motifs, the hand-fitted compartment tray, the brass fittings chosen and set one at a time. Whether or not it was truly the work of an elderly English gentleman, as its note insists, it belongs to the long tradition of the handmade keepsake box — an object made slowly, to be kept and passed on. Product Details Object Lidded compartmented box (collector's / tea / keepsake box) Decoration Hand-painted gold dragonflies on an ebonized black ground Interior Fitted tray with grid of small compartments Hardware Brass corner brackets, latch, and lid support chain Material Lacquered / ebonized wood Era Circa mid-20th century Condition Hones