A beautiful oriental metal box lined with wood. The lid features a raised design of hot a dragon serpent, leaves, and symbols - I'm not sure if they are Chinese or Japanese - please feel free to tell me if you know!
The design around the side could be water lilies and waves of water - quite art nouveau in style. The sides are slightly lighter, more bronze colour than the top - I think the lacquer may have been rubbed off.
The hinge is intact and works well and the lid lift up using the notch on the front. The wood inside is in good condition too.
The box measures 15.5cms x 8.5cms x 7cms tall including the dragon in relief. It is very heavy, weighing over 1200g, so I'm afraid postage outside the UK is going to be expensive!
This is a beautiful box, the metal has been rubbed in places, probably for cleaning, but it is nevertheless very attractive.
I can't be sure how old this item is, but believe it's been in the family since the 1950s if not before.
See more interesting curios in my Etsy shop at https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/OttosCurios
Product code: Oriental Metal box, wood lined, hot dragon