Tobacco pot, turned wooden box, chiseled and painted, 1920s or 1930s.

This very beautiful turned and hand-chiseled wooden box with its lid adorned with chiseled and then painted flowers does not want to reveal its origins! The investigation is still ongoing. Some similar examples are marked "made in Japan," but others are presented as typical woodwork from the Amsterdam school in the 1920s and 1930s. The one presented here has an old label mentioning a Lyon-based company whose trace I have not been able to find! I did not wish to remove this label, but perhaps underneath lies a mark, a stamp that could enlighten us. In any case, it is a very beautiful piece of craftsmanship, both in the turning of this lovely caramel-coloured wood that gives an elegant shape to the box and in the fine chiselling of the flowers on the lid, but especially around the entire perimeter where fine dark striations have been applied, probably with a burning tool. The work even extends to decorating the underside of the base with these striations! Is it a tobacco box, a jewellery box, a catch-all... The mystery is even greater. This box is in beautiful condition, and even in incredible condition if it is indeed a century old! No chips, no signs of knocks, barely very light signs of use and two fine cracks at the base, hardly visible (see photo in very close-up). The lid measures 11.5 cm in diameter, the box measures 11 cm in maximum diameter and 5.5 cm in height, with a total height including the handle of the lid of 9 cm.