Antique Papier Mâché Lidded Duck Box

Antique Papier-Mâché Lidded Duck Box | Kashmir India Hand-Painted Decorative Trinket Container

A wonderfully unusual antique papier-mâché lidded duck, blending practicality with decorative charm. Crafted in the traditional papier-mâché technique and richly hand painted with intricate gilt and black foliate decoration, this delightful piece would once have been both an ornamental curiosity and a functional storage box for small treasures.

Papier-mâché decorative wares became especially popular during the 19th and early 20th centuries, prized for their lightweight durability and the skilled lacquerwork that transformed humble paper pulp into highly decorative household objects. Animal-form boxes like this carried a particular appeal, combining whimsy with craftsmanship, and were often displayed on dressing tables or cabinets to hold keepsakes, sewing notions, jewellery, or letters.

This charming duck form opens at the back with a fitted lid, revealing its hidden compartment a lovely example of novelty design meeting everyday use. The hand-painted surface, with its intricate repeating floral and foliate motifs in warm gold and amber tones against a dark ground, gives it a rich, timeworn character that only age can create.

A beautiful decorative object for collectors of antique papier-mâché, animal curiosities, or Victorian decorative arts, equally at home styled on a shelf, dressing table, or within a cabinet of curiosities.

Good antique condition with age-related wear, rubbing, and surface losses to the painted finish, consistent with its age and use. These signs of wear add to its authentic antique character and charm.

MEASUREMENTS

Width 15cm   Depth 9.5cm  Height 12cm

SHIPPING

SHIPPING UK only.