I was visiting my aunt recently and showed her a photo of the I bought recently while in Tasmania. She disappeared and came back with a box she said belonged to my grandfather. She didnt know a lot about it, other than she remembers it always being in the house and that my grandfather possibly got it overseas during WW2. She asked me if I wanted it and she had no real use for it, so I was happy to take it.
I did a bit of research and it is a Syrian Marquetry Box, typical of work from Damascus. Its similar in a way to the tunbridge ware box in that they use small pieces of different colored timbers, though this one also has mother of pearl in places as well. I presumed my grandfather would have just bought it from a roadside vendor, but its dated at around 1890, so it was over 50 years old when he bought it. He must have visited an antiques type bazaar or something.
The timber was very dried out when I got it, I have given it one polish and its come up a lot better. I will leave it for a week or so and do it again. Its a lovely unusual box, though has a few small timber pieces missing.
I am basing my information on its age from an antique dealer.
Can you imagine being the poor bastard having to make and glue all these pieces ?
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Well "collected" that looks marvellous. Marquetry is, I suspect, a lost art and one that people, today, have little respect for. You were lucky to have been given that, methinks.
Nice one ! , you starting to get a collection going .
Yeah, I now have 3 boxes (I will post the other one up soon). I dont plan on getting anymore though.
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