This is an antique 19th century Victorian blue velvet box with brass Eastlake style decorations.

I would estimate it dates circa 1880s.

The box measures 3 1/2 inches tall x 9 inches wide x 5 3/4 inches long (8.9 cm, 22.8 cm, 14.6 cm).

I did some preliminary research and found that these boxes were used for jewelry, sewing notions or grooming pieces.

The box is covered in I believe a teal blue velvet. It has some light wear, mostly around the edges, but given other examples of velvet Victorian pieces I have seen, it’s in very good condition.

Probably the box’s worst problem is that the lid was pushed too far back at some point and the velvet tore going across the back, as did the box inside. You would just have to be careful when you opened it. Most people would not notice this problem just by looking at the box, but when you open it you do see it.

The hardware is all made of brass in the Eastlake style. The lock has a little handle and you just turn that and the latch closes up or opens. It’s very good quality.

There is an oval beveled mirror inside, which is definitely original. It is a little separated from the tufted silk (or satin) interior, but is still holding well. It has the usual white spots found on early mirrors. There are two pieces in the bottom which look like they held something, but I’m not quite sure what. The piece in the left front has kind of fallen in and is not holding to the box on one side. One of the small light blue round pieces is missing from the top, but I just found it sitting in the bottom, so that would have to be reattached. There is some scattered discoloration to the dark blue interior, but it’s fairly minimal.

The bottom of the box is covered in thick paper. Much of this has worn off though. Probably not a big deal.

It weighs 15 1/2 ounces (442 g).