Rare Elizabethan box or storage casket with an embroidered unicorn , 17th or early 18th century. In well preserved condition , this early English needlework box is mounted with the original hinges having slight hints of gilding. The interior is lined with later silk. The design varies with each panel . Generally these designs would have been adapted from early prints. One of the panels includes the mythical Unicorn.

This beautiful antique casket or storage box covered in detailed woven textile fabric mimics classic European wall tapestries, which frequently depicted dense, stylized forests, scrolling foliage and woodland flora. The hardware is fitted with antique dark iron or steel lock plate with a hinged hasp mechanism on the front along with the classic strap hinges on the top lid. The fabric is neatly fastened along the edges using spaced upholstery tacks common for securing the wrapping onto wooden chests. Boxes of this style were traditionally used as decorative document boxes, needlework caskets or jewelry chests.

Height 8 1/4 inches, width 22 1/4 inches, depth thirteen and three quarter inches.

$875.