Decorative boxes
A box is a container usually having six sides, with one side acting as a flap or cover . A box can be of any size and can be used for any purpose like keeping a ring or an earring, to storing and shifting large machines. Though the purpose of box is completely functional, it can be decorated to make the look attractive .
Types of decoration
Wooden boxes belonging to the earlier period used to be very decorative. They were used mainly for keeping jewelry. The decoration found in such boxes is of two types : one is carving out in the same material. The other is fixing pieces of stones and marbles by in lay work. Such wooden boxes look very classy and are also old now, which makes them antique pieces. These antiques can now be placed in the living room or even bedroom as showpieces .
The most common type is the feminine work box. Dating back to the 17th century, it contains all the stitching material. It has small trays made inside for keeping needles, reels of silk and cotton threads and other necessary items. It is adorned with silk and beads. These work boxes are ordinarily portable, but sometimes form the top of a stationery table .
The other widely found type belonging to the same era is the snuff box. It carried the snuff, inhaling which was a common practice those days. Small in size, they are made of a variety of material like rich wood, rose wood to potato pulp. Other popular materials used in making these boxes are Gold with diamond studding, Mother of pearl with silver decoration and tortoise shell, because of its luster . The lids of these were often adorned with miniature portraits or paintings. Today, snuff box is a piece of collection and is collected by museums and the wealthy people. This is an art found mainly in the Eastern countries like India, Japan and China etc. Other materials found for larger boxes are copper and bronze . The size of these boxes is also larger since they were mainly used for carrying essential goods from one place to the other or storage of costly clothes .
There is yet another type of decorative boxes, which are medium sized. These were used for keeping small stuff like cosmetics, comb, clips, pens etc . Such boxes are often found in a set of 4 or 5. Each box belonging to the same set has the same design on the lid, but varies in size . The smallest fits inside the smaller, then both into a larger and so on, so that ultimately, the largest box contains the entire set . Such boxes can now be used in home decor. They can be placed in the living room, near informal seating or in the bedroom, beside the coffee table .
Present era
In today\'s date, boxes are decorated mainly for giving gifts for wedding or other occasions like Christmas, new year etc. A wedding gift box can be decorated in many ways, but a plain, light colored paper like lemon yellow or pink, wrapped with a bright colored matching ribbon tied to it looks most decent .
Other Articles
