Lovely Vintage Hand Painted Musical Jewellery Box

( JB199 )
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Beautiful vintage musical jewellery box playing the old Scottish love song 'Annie Laurie'. Glossy lacquered finish and hand-painted Japanese landscape scenes.

Lovely Vintage Hand Painted Musical Jewellery Box

This is a beautiful vintage musical jewellery box, dating to the 1950s. It was made in Japan and has its original Japanese musical movement. It is also complete with its original key which locks the box securely.

The musical movement plays 'Annie Laurie', a beautiful old Scottish love song that is based on a poem by William Douglas (1672-1748) of Dumfries and Galloway. The words were modified and a tune was added by Alicia Scott in 1834/35.

The Exterior

The box has a glossy red lacquered finish and is decorated with hand-painted Japanese landscape scenes. This lovely decoration is on the lid, front and both sides of the box. The lid is further decorated with iridescent Abalone shell inlay.

There is a very pretty engraved escutcheon to the keyhole and the box is complete with its original hinges.

The Interior

The interior has a lift up storage tray which automatically rises when you open the lid. The tray has a single storage compartment which has a maroon red lacquered finish and hand-painted scenes to complement the decoration on the exterior. The tray rises smoothly with its white metal cantilever hinges and there are polished gold metal hinges on the lids of the compartment. The insides of the lids are finished with black lacquer.

Beneath the tray is a further single compartment and the musical movement is cased to the right of this. This has a lovely black lacquered cover. In front of the casing is a little ring storage section.

There is a lovely fitted mirror to the inside of the lid which also has hand-painted decoration.

All of the compartments and the walls to the inside of the lid are beautifully lined with a ribbed cord fabric. New braided white silk tassels have been added to the lids of the storage tray.

This is a rarer example of a Japanese lacquered box. Most of this type are finished with black lacquer and do not have decoration on the mirror. These beautiful finishes make the box that extra bit special!

Manufacturer

This beautiful box was manufactured by the Japanese firm 'Daysun'. The firm's name has been marked on the bottom of the box in pretty handwritten script.

Operating The Musical Movement

The music is operated via a wind-up key on the base of the box. Five turns of the key are sufficient to play the tune in full. The music stops as it should, when the lid is closed or when the movement has fully unwound.

As with all musical boxes, care should be taken not to overwind the movement.

Condition

This wonderful box is in excellent condition for its 65 years of age. It is structurally sound and free of damage.

There is some light wear here and there to the lacquered finish and some small areas of paint missing to the exterior. There are two little pieces of Abalone shell missing.

These little flaws are minor and do not spoil the beautiful overall appearance of the box. The wear is as we'd expect for the age.

The colours of the paint are still nice and vibrant and the lacquer still has a lovely sheen.

The interior linings are still in beautiful condition. They are neatly fitted and have no splits or frays.

The musical movement is currently in perfect working order.

Note

Please note that musical movements can deteriorate over time. We are not responsible for those that wear or malfunction after further age and use once boxes are purchased.

Measurements

Please use the following measurements to ensure the box is the right size for your requirements.

Length:  18.0cm
Width:   12.5cm
Height:  10.5cm

Top Compartment In The Storage Tray:

13.0 by 6.5cm with a 1.8cm depth.

Bottom Compartment:

10.5 by 9.5cm with a 2.8cm depth.

Ring Storage Section:

Holds 2-3 rings depending on their sizes.

Postage

The box will be posted FREE within the UK by Next Day Special Delivery.

International postage is £25 by Royal Mail International Tracked and/or Signed For postage. Delivery is fast, within 3-5 working days to Europe and within 5-7 working days to the rest of the world.

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