Elegant antique French Napoleon III era 23 3/4" wide cashmere box, a huge chest with ornate boulle style brass inlay & finished rosewood interior! A treasure of a box, extra large in size and made to store the cashmeres (wools of Kasimir) that were exotic imported treasures of the era in French aristocratic homes. The oversized chests such as the one you see here kept away the pesky moths that might damage fine woolen shawls and table coverings. Of course, only the wealthiest 1830-70 French were worrying about their cashmere, and the ebeniste's industry was happy to provide these furniture pieces/chest boxes to their liking. The box is oversized, as noted, is in fine condition both inside and out. The interior of these chests, this one particularly, were as important as the exterior, and as you see here, made of beautiful rosewood veneers of finest quality. Boulle style marquetry decorates the lid and cartouche surrounding the escutcheon. This one even has a working lock with skeleton key. Just in from France, this one is not to be missed!
Very good condition. There are a few spots where the brass inlay has lifted a little, right around the key hole and tacked down on a few spots in the lid corner inlays. Some thin brass stringing around the outside of the lid (not the corner edging) has lifted and been glued back down into the grooves. There is also some surface scratching to the lid and wear to the ebonized finish around the center lid cartouche and escutcheon areas from the years of soft polishing. A few other imperfections but, as you can see, it's in remarkable shape with age, etc. considered. See pictures for all measurements.
