Posted 3 years ago
willigsu
(16 items)
Hi! Having a hard time with this one.
Asian motif, round tightly lidded wooden container with lidded post inside. 6" in diameter and 4 1/2" tall. The lidded post is 2" in dia and 3" tall.
The piece definitely has a purpose, but I have no idea what it is!
Thoughts? TIA
I think I have identified it as a Victorian era Collar box with central lidded stud compartment!
A Beautiful Item !.!!!.!
Thank you! And definitely interesting!
These are still pretty common. They date from about the 1980s to 2000 and, I think, are Japanese. I have one. It originally contained several good sized coasters. Not seen one with a central container, though. The last time I looked there were several on ebay.
A half dozen of these on ebay right now, one with made in Panama on the bottom. A couple of years ago there was one the same size with coasters in it or maybe they were small plates, I don't remember. Guessing they all served some kind of beverage or snacking purpose. The "collar box" claims on ebay don't make much sense based on the age of these.
After looking at a lot of collar boxes and round wood boxes similar to yours, I'm not sure of the use. Yours could have been a collar box. Pretty sure mine is not. I did not find many wooden collar boxes and some of the ones I did find were obviously misidentified as collar boxes. Some were marked "Made in Japan" or "Japan" so maybe reproductions? Mine is unmarked. The quality of the woodworking and finishing on yours looks to be pretty good, except for some turning marks that weren't cleaned up, but the carving quality, not so good. I am lukewarmly guessing vintage collar box, and more strongly guessing reproduction collar box, now.
Kwqd, thanks so much for your comments. I’ve seen many similar coaster containers, but that darn lidded middle post is very intentional! I know that it at least dates to the 1960s (it’s been in a box in garage since then). It may be a trinket box from that time period, but very awkward to use. It actually seems very well made and the lid is basically air tight.
You are welcome willigsu. The lid fits so tightly because the lid and base were turned on a lathe, probably using dedicated jigs to ensure a precise fit. My lid fits the same way.