This tiny box holds a lot of secrets! Its exterior is decorated with a geometrical strawwork pattern. Its contents contain several hidden love messages, suggesting that this box was created as a gift for a (potential) lover.
The central lid opens and reveals a little mirror glued to its interior. There is also a little print glued inside of an elegant group around a table, with the phrase: 'Jamais un coeur interesse, n'aura part a on amitié (An unrepresented heart will never share in our friendship).
But that is not all: there is also a little extra compartment at the top of the lid. When this is removed, the inside of the lid shows a picture of Cupid behind a sharpening wheel, sharpening his arrow, and the phrase: 'Je plains less coeurs indifferens, ils nont point d'heureux moment' (I pity indifferent hearts, they have no happy moments).
There is also a little drawer at the bottom, which reveals a third picture of cupid, this time spanning his bow, with the phrase: 'Avant que l'on vous touche, Vous faite la farouche' (Before anyone touches you, you act fierce).
In the 18th and 19th Century, creating straw work objects was a favourite pastime.
Formerly considered "the gold of the poor", rye straw was dried and dyed, then split in half and glued on its matt side, and then painstakingly glued onto an object, creating several patterns in the process.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Size: 68 x 52 x 48 cm.
Weight: 102 grams.
Age: Early 19th Century, Georgian era circa 1800.
Condition: This box is in antique condition with wear, consistent with its age. In general, it is good to keep in mind that this box was likely created as a form of pass time by an amateur, and doesn't have the quality you'd expert from an expertly crafted box; its appeal to me lies especially in its naive construction.
Both the exterior and interior have some scuffs and marks, and some of the marqueterie on the outside has been lost. The sides of the lid were re-glued in the past, and the internal mirror displays wear.