From around 1850 to 1880 it was quite fashionable in France/Paris for well dressed ladies and gentlemen to wear expensive kid leather or crocheted lace gloves. It followed that such lovely and expensive gloves needed a means of safely storing them and skilled craftsmen began making elegant and very expensive boxes for that purpose. Called Gants Boxes, they often became much more expensive and treasured than the gloves. As they evolved they often were made of exotic hardwoods and were decorated with brass stringing and intricate boulle inlays of brass and rare materials. Whenever we are in France we always watch for these boxes and once in a while But not often. We find ones that are still preserved in their almost original state. This is one of the finest and best preserved in our experience. This is a French Antique Napoleon III Era Gants box with a Brass Boulle Inlay and Brass Inlay on the top. It is made of hardwood, probably mahogany, walnut, finished with black lacquer we believe and lined inside with rosewood. It has brass stringing on the top and around the sides, and brass pencil edging on the top edge. There is a working lock with the original key we presume. If you examine it with the light shining just right it shows a few tiny nicks but other than that which is certainly to be expected with its age. There is no damage. The boulle inlays are intact and perfect. No cracking or warping in the wood. No lifts or missing brass in the stringing or boule. Plus the cartouche on the lid has never been engraved with any initials, nor do we recommend that but we invite a new owner to make that decision. We would not have been surprised to find the name, Tahan, Giroux, or Vervelle on the box as its craftsmanship compares to their work. It measures 10.5 inches long, just over 4 inches wide, and is 3 inches tall. It weighs 1 pound 3 ounces. These boxes make an extraordinary gift for yourself, a family member, or for a special friend. They also make an extraordinary corporate gift that will reward excellence in a very special way. We suggest they be placed for safe display because of their beauty but they can provide a resting place for that iPhone or other treasures for which you constantly are searching. We have a few more we will be listing, all of them stunning. Look at them all carefully and we invite your combined order. The item “French Antique Napoleon III Gants Box withBoulle Inlay. Elegant Corporate Gift” is in sale since Monday, April 15, 2019. This item is in the category “Antiques\Decorative Arts\Woodenware\Other Antique Woodenware”. The seller is “435jamesp” and is located in Manti, Utah. This item can be shipped worldwide.
- Style: Napoleon III
- Age: 1850-1870
- Maker: Unknown
- Original/Reproduction: Original
- Type: Antique Gants Box
- Color: Brown, Brass
- Country/Region of Origin: France
