This is an elegant Antique Rosewood Veneer Escritoire or Writing Lap Desk made, we believe, in England during the Victorian Era. The maker is unknown but on the lid, the name, Elleanor Armstrong, is engraved into a small mother of pearl cartouche. The ecritoire has inlays of mother of pearl circles on both upper and lower lids and also has inlays of what appear to be pewter or white metal stringing, some of the stringing inlays are missing as evidenced in the images. The photos are a good description. Most of the rosewood veneer is intact without cracking which is unusual but there are a couple of chips out of the veneer and we circled them in the photos. The lower lid has a slight bit of warping but still locks with the key and latch shown on the upper lid. Inside, it has the original velvet writing surface that shows a lot of use and is separated at the fold as they virtually all are. There are also two lidded rosewood covered small compartments that still held a small pencil and metric ruler. An inkwell (Slightly chipped on top) is still resting in its slot as it was when we found it. The back of the writing lid still has string attached which would have held stationary or small cards. A lovely desk or coffee table decorative box!
We love old writing boxes for the period they represent, a time when a handwritten note was the favored way to keep in touch with loved ones. This was a gorgeous, very expensive box in its day. Even with a few issues which it has, it is still a gorgeous antique, one with a bit of mystery about its owner whose name is engraved on the lid. (We have no information on her.) Though not an exact match, we found with it a rosewood jewelry or trinket box, very similar in construction, both with similar mother of pearl inlays. Working lock with key. See pictures for all measurements.
