{"product_id":"giltwood-footed-jewellery-casket-with-ballet-studio-scene-and-white-filigree-trim-red-velvet-interior-original-l-gambor-twinkle-toes-label-japan-after-1952","title":"Giltwood Footed Jewellery Casket with Ballet Studio Scene and White Filigree Trim, Red Velvet Interior, Original L Gambor “Twinkle Toes” Label, Japan, After 1952","description":"\u003ch3\u003eThe Piece\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eA small gilt casket on four shaped legs, with a ballet studio on the lid and its original paper label still on the underside.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe box is wood, finished in warm gold with the brush strokes left visible in the gilding, and it stands clear of the surface on four cabriole legs that sweep out at the foot.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe lid carries a printed scene of a ballet rehearsal: a woman in a rose gown at a harp, a ballerina in a pale blue tutu on point beside a grand piano, an accompanist at the keyboard, and two small girls in blue watching from the doorway.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAround the scene, and again around the lid edge and down the front of every leg, runs an applied openwork filigree trim finished in white over the gold, so the ornament reads as lace against the gilt.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLift the lid and the whole interior is lined in deep red velvet — base, walls and the underside of the lid — with a raised divider across the floor making two compartments. The lid swings on two small brass hinges.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe underside is flat, plain gilt, and carries a printed paper label: L GAMBOR, Twinkle Toes in script, MADE IN JAPAN.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eHistory \u0026amp; Provenance\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eThat label does two things at once. It dates the box and it names it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom 1947 to 1952, goods exported from Japan under Allied occupation were required to be marked Occupied Japan or Made in Occupied Japan. The occupation ended on 28 April 1952 and the wording reverted to a plain Made in Japan. This label reads Made in Japan with no occupation wording, so the box was exported after April 1952.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTwinkle Toes is the name of the model rather than a description — the title given to this particular lid scene by whoever commissioned it. L Gambor appears as the importer or decorator. The name has not been matched to a recorded firm, and the box is offered unattributed beyond what the label itself states.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe form is Florentine, and the fact that it was made in Japan is the interesting part. Gilded and painted wooden caskets on cabriole legs, trimmed in applied filigree, were an Italian speciality — Florence produced them for the tourist and gift trade for generations. After the war, Japanese workshops took up the same idiom for the American export market and produced it at volume: the same gilt, the same legs, the same lace trim, made six thousand miles from Florence and sold in American department stores and gift shops.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe decoration is a printed scene rather than a painting, and the object says so under magnification. That is how these lids were done, and it is why the drawing is finer than any hand could manage at this scale. The work that is by hand is everything around it — the gilding, the applied filigree, the white finishing over the gold, the velvet lining and the fitting of the divider.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThere is no musical movement. The underside is flat and unbroken, with no winding key, no keyhole and no access panel, and the interior is lined throughout with no compartment for a mechanism. Many boxes of this type were fitted as music boxes; this one was made as a plain jewellery casket.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eProduct Details\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eObject\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eGiltwood footed jewellery casket with hinged lid\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDimensions\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eApproximately 7 in wide by 4½ in deep by 4½ in tall on the legs\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eForm\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eRectangular box with a bowed front, raised on four shaped cabriole legs; hinged lid on two brass hinges\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDecoration\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePrinted ballet studio scene set into the lid; applied openwork filigree trim finished in white, running around the lid panel, the lid edge, the body and down the front of each leg\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eInterior\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eLined throughout in deep red velvet — base, sides and lid underside — with a raised divider across the floor forming two compartments\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMarks\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePrinted paper label to the underside: L GAMBOR · Twinkle Toes · MADE IN JAPAN. The name has not been matched to a recorded firm; offered unattributed beyond the label.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eEra\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eAfter April 1952. Japanese exports were required to be marked Occupied Japan from 1947 until the occupation ended on 28 April 1952; this label carries the plain Made in Japan wording that replaced it.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFitment\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eNot a music box. No movement, winding key, keyhole or access panel.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCondition\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eVery good and sound. The box is solid, all four legs are firm and it stands level. The lid closes true and both brass hinges work correctly. The printed lid scene is bright and undamaged and the filigree trim is complete and attached all the way round. The red velvet lining is strong and unfaded throughout with no splitting at the corners, and the divider is secure. The gilding is rubbed to a warmer tone along the lid edges, the corners and the leading edge of each leg, and there is a darker rubbed mark on the top edge of the lid at the front. The paper label is present and fully legible, torn at its right edge, with a patch of old adhesive residue on the gilt beside it. Condition Guaranteed.\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eAvailability\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eOne of a Kind — 1 Available\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\u003c\/table\u003e\u003ch3\u003eWhy It Belongs in Your Home\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003eA box that stands on legs is a different object from a box that sits flat.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFour inches of clearance turns it from storage into furniture — a miniature commode on a dressing table or a nightstand, with a shadow underneath it and a silhouette that reads from across the room. It is the single reason these were made this way, and it still works.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe gold is the useful kind. Rubbed, warm and slightly uneven rather than bright and even, it sits comfortably with old mirror glass, brass, painted wood and worn leather in a way that new gilt never manages.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOpen it and the red is a genuine shock. Deep velvet against warm gold is a pairing nobody uses any more, and it makes the inside of the box an event rather than a lining — the reason to open it in front of somebody.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt holds what it was built to hold. Two compartments take rings, earrings, a watch, cufflinks, a pair of studs; the velvet keeps them from sliding and from scratching.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe lid scene earns its place for a specific buyer. Anyone who danced, whose daughter dances, or who teaches will read that rehearsal room immediately — the harp, the accompanist at the piano, the small girls in the doorway waiting their turn. As a gift for a dancer it is considerably better than anything currently made.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAnd it does not have to hold jewellery. On a desk it takes stamps, keys and paper clips; on a hall table it takes the things that come out of pockets; on a shelf it simply stands there being a small gilt building on legs.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA note on care. Keep it dry and do not wipe the gilding with anything damp. Gilt over wood lifts under moisture and will not go back.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDust it with a soft dry brush rather than a cloth. The filigree trim is openwork and a cloth catches in it; a brush goes through it.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLeave the label alone. It is the only documentation the box has, and cleaning around it is how these get lost.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLift it by the body rather than the lid, and keep it out of direct sun, which fades red velvet faster than almost any other textile.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Viridian Eclection","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48048251830377,"sku":"VE-0775","price":125.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0651\/0093\/9369\/files\/0EE25A25-B37B-4DA7-A100-987738667CA0_38cad3a7-afa3-4113-a82b-27a558650982.jpg?v=1789322753","url":"https:\/\/viridianeclection.com\/products\/giltwood-footed-jewellery-casket-with-ballet-studio-scene-and-white-filigree-trim-red-velvet-interior-original-l-gambor-twinkle-toes-label-japan-after-1952","provider":"Viridian Eclection","version":"1.0","type":"link"}