Photo Credit: FeelingOfDejaVu
1930s French Ebony & Chrome Art Deco Box
Asking Price: $344.59 (price as of 2019; item no longer available)
Pros:
-This exquisite Macassar Ebony wood and chrome metal Art Deco box originates from 1930s France and drips with chic Streamline Moderne aesthetic.
-This elegant French Art Deco box measures 9.65 inches (24.5 cm) long by 4.35 inches (11.0 cm) wide by 2.75 inches (7.0 cm) high. It weighs 1.2 pounds (545 grams).
-The Art Deco period, which spanned the 1920s and 1930s, was characterized by an emphasis on sharp angles, sleek contours and metallic or glass finishes. Most of these stylish attributes are plainly visible on this fine French Art Deco box.
-Macassar Ebony (scientific name: Diospyros celebica) is a fine exotic hardwood that primarily grows on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi. Like other members of the ebony family, it is prized for its naturally lustrous finish and extreme hardness. But unlike most ebony species, Macassar Ebony exhibits a variegated or striped brownish-black appearance. This is substantially different than the pure jet black color associated with most ebonies.
-France was the world leader in fine art and design during the 1930s – a fact plainly visible when looking at this Art Deco masterpiece.
-Macassar Ebony is an incredibly desirable and expensive wood, even among tropical hardwoods (which in turn tend to be pricier than temperate hardwoods). The fact that Macassar Ebony grows slowly and is restricted to a small corner of the Indonesian archipelago, combined with its incredibly beautiful wood grain, contributes to its extremely high price. It isn’t unusual for the wood to sell for a dizzyingly high $100 a board foot at specialist lumber mills.
-This wonderful French Art Deco box could be used for jewelry, cigars or as a men’s valet. It would also be a completely unique gift, as I’m certain that you couldn’t possibly find anything like it regardless of how long you looked.
-It is quite common for vintage or antique boxes made from tropical hardwoods or exotic burls to employ veneers in order to reduce costs. However, this 1930s Art Deco box is constructed from solid Macassar Ebony without even a single piece of veneer present. This underscores the incredibly high build quality of this piece; no expense was spared.
-The asking price of less than $350 is an absolute steal for this fine French antique box, especially considering that the stripped-down Mid-Century Modern and Art Deco styles are very much in vogue right now.
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Cons:
-Macassar Ebony is not currently (as of November 2019) CITES listed as an endangered timber species, meaning that it can be legally purchased, sold and transported across international borders. However, it is possible that this designation could change in the future. So if you have any interest in this gorgeous Macassar Ebony and chrome Art Deco box, I would recommend that you pick it up sooner rather than later.
Read more fascinating Antique Sage fine hardwood item spotlight posts here.
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