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Beaded box of delights
Could one of your experts offer any insights regarding the age, origins, functional purpose and value of this box? It is made from wood, and lined with green fabric, which may be silk. It seems the lid might have originally featured a decorative fringe. It measures 43 x 230 x 140mm and the decoration is worked in very fine embroidered beadwork.
Penelope Lane, by email
What a really beautiful box! I’ve always admired this intricate and painstaking work. The fine beadwork was embroidered by hand, probably during the first half of the 19th century, although it could have been in the late 18th century.
I don’t think this box is English; it could be French or Italian. Certainly the Murano factories in Venice started producing glass beads as early as 1291, inspired by the famous Venetian glassware, and the tiny ‘seed’-sized glass beads were also widely used by other European, and particularly Czech, artisans. The beads were threaded onto silk, which was then stitched to fabric.
You mention that originally there might have been a fringe round the lid and, if so, this would also have been silk, which would have frayed easily. It looks as though there is a lock on the box, which leads me to believe that it belonged to a rich lady who kept it for storing jewellery. If this were to be offered at auction I think it would fetch between £300 and £400. BC
Sofa repair
I have a lovely button-back Victorian sofa that needs some attention. A couple of the buttons have come loose but, other than that, the condition of the fabric (a vintage William Morris design) is in good condition. Is there anything I can do to secure the buttons, without having to have the whole sofa reupholstered?
My advice to save your Victorian sofa and your vintage William Morris-design fabric from a full restoration would be to invest in a time-saving tufting needle, clamps and button twine. As you’ve lost a couple of buttons, the chances are you will have this problem again – so this way you will always have the tools to hand!
This can be done in your home and, costwise, it is very inexpensive at around £70, compared to the alternative of reupholstering the entire sofa. It’s a simple process and there are videos available on YouTube to guide you. Alternatively, feel free to contact me at hello@relovedupholstery.co.uk and I will happily talk you through the instant gratification of the button repair! SH-S
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