This is collectable 1930s heavy mottled butterscotch Art Deco Box. It is made of urea formaldehyde - an early plastic, rather like Bakelite.
It would have been originally made to pop onto your desk or in your den and would store cigars or cigarettes.
It is one of two identical boxes that I have in store - but they are in different colours - this is a mottled butterscotch shade; my other is simple cream colour. Both very typical of the 30s.
It was made by the British company: Buttner Pipes, as annotated on the base. The base is stamped 'The British Buttner Pipe Co Ltd'. This company was based in Glasgow.
I also have an Arte Moderne round black and white ashtray made by Buttner's in my store. These were very stylish and included on the Queen Mary liner.
This lovely box is of a sarcophagus shape or cenotaph inspired design with beautiful crisp geometric detailing to the sides and lid. It is certainly an iconic Deco design - and an example of this box (in butterscotch) is in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
It is a sturdy box with a good bit of weight to it, and has a hinged lid. The hinge works on little pins, as photographed. It is in fair vintage condition for display.
CONDITION: There has been no pinning to the hinges of the box. They are as made - with the top square pin sections fitting into the aperture in the base - but not pinned. The lid can therefore be just lifted off - if you are good with tools - you could easily drill a little hole in the hinge section and insert a tiny metal pin to make it function (as my cream box). Apart from the un-finished status - my box is in excellent vintage condition - with no other damages.
This has been taken into account with the price. If it had been perfect - I would have listed at £125 - so a fair reduction down to £95.
Dimensions: The length is 19 cm. The depth is 10 cm, and the height is 8.5 cm. These boxes in such nice condition are now hard to source.
It is a great item for an Art Deco room - and you can use it to store lots of little trinkets or pieces of jewellery.
It will be posted to you in the UK with Royal Mail Recorded Delivery. This will cost £5.50 and applied to your order at the checkout.