This is collectable 1930s heavy cream 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It would have been originally made to pop onto your desk or in your den and would store cigars or cigarettes.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 cream shade; my other is more of a mottled butterscotch shade. 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 a little (old) repair to the right-hand side hinge inside - this is stable and hardly visible when the box is open. It is not evident at all when the box is closed - I have photographed for you in close-up for your inspection. It also has a wee hairline crack along the other side of the exterior of the lid. Again, not obvious on display but on close-up inspection.
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 £45.
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.