Gorgeous & rare antique French Maison Giroux marked Napoleon III or Victorian era match holder box, a beautifully appointed casket with ornate brass & red shell boulle veneers, brass edging and in wonderful condition! Typical of the 19th century French, a place for everything and everything in its place. Such an opulent box for what would be a relatively mundane purpose, simply to hold matches... Circa 1840-70s Napoleon III era, France, the birthplace and time for this superb box or casket. A marvelous example of the era, aesthetic, and immense allure these old pieces represent. Wildly popular in France and abroad, these glorious old cabinetry pieces proliferated in Napoleon III era France, and we reap the benefit of their popularity and appeal still today in those that survive. One of four fabulous old match holding caskets that I'm currently working at photographing and listing so, be sure to browse some while you're with us. This one quite rare with the maker mark, the label on the bottom reads "Maison Giroux, Brevets De L'Empereur" for Alphonse Giroux, one of the top French makers of the era as evidenced by the title, maker to the emperor. Thanks!
While on the subject of fine antique boxes, by the way, I MUST mention to you a fabulous newly published reference book by our friend and customer, Genevieve Cummins of Australia. Over the past several years, Genevieve has been working on a masterpiece of a book, which we've just recently received copies of. It's SUPERB! We're pleased to see our own shop noted in many of the pages, and to revisit so many exceptional antique boxes we've had over the years. Some of you who buy antique boxes from us might well see your own in there, as we did share our images often with Genevieve. Be sure to order it. The title is: "ANTIQUE BOXES, Inside and Out". Hot off the presses, it's got 429 delicious pages of boxes.
Very good condition. The striker panel is a bit aged/worn but could be replaced with a strip of black sandpaper if you wish. Some crazing to the shell but I see no losses really other than one or two tiny bits. There is also a brass tack holding down the brass edging on the rear right of the lid panel. See pictures for measurements.
