Vintage View: Opening up a deeply feminine treasure chests

Kya deLongchamps lifts the lid on some special and deeply feminine treasure chests

A HIGHLY personal antique or vintage item carries a perceptible emotional energy. Boxes, created to contain, conceal and organise a range of smaller objects from love letters to toiletries and jewels, have been used as intimate gifts and ceremonial presents for thousands of years.

Their shape, material and ornament often reflect wider design, architectural and decorative patterns and artistic movements favoured in the age. They are the sort of thing that through death, inheritance, incident and accident are winnowed down to boot sales and auctions at random, giving collectors a wide choice and constant surprises out in the field.