Antique box restoration
Over the past few years we have been steadily gaining a reputation for our work restoring quality boxes. We have been lucky to work on some superb examples which are detailed and shown below. Boxes come in all shapes and sizes and, indeed, materials. Many of the boxes we work on are coromandel veneer with brass inlay, which look particularly beautiful when polished. We also work on tortoiseshell and leather covered boxes. One of the most interesting projects we have undertaken was the re-fitting of the interior of a coromandel jewellery box, with personalised embroidery. Further details of this and other projects with photos can be found below. We can also source replacement keys for the locks, which are often Bramah locks and difficult to repair. Please do not hesitate to contact us to discuss how we can restore your boxes to their former glory.
Shown below are two photos of a superb coromandel dressing box complete with its original interior, including glass bottles etc. The interior required little attention however the outer surface was dull and had water marks. This was re-polished using shellac/French polish, bringing the box back to life.
Below are a couple of photos of a gorgeous ‘Aspray’ coromandel box. This came to us with the interior completely missing. After doing some research we were able to re-construct the interior as it would have been. The drawers were made from solid mahogany veneered with coromandel to the front and satinwood on the sides. The interior sections were lined with velvet and moire silk. We had small handles made for the drawers which were miniature versions of the larger handles on the sides of the box. This was a particularly complex project and the client was very happy with the result.
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Below are photos of a creative project we worked on which involved fitting bespoke embroidered velvet into the interior of a coromandel box. The client wanted the interior to tell a story (based on the work of Roald Dahl) and she designed the embroidery herself. We repaired the interior sections (parts were missing) and re-polished the outside using shellac/French polish. Finally we carefully installed the new embroidery and the results were stunning, a contemporary interior complementing the antique box.
Below are a couple of photos of a tortoiseshell box we restored. We replaced several pieces of missing tortoiseshell and carefully cleaned and polished the outside. The interior was in poor condition, so this was lined with velvet as the client wanted to use it for small items of jewellery.
