Antique, Wooden Lined, Japanese Repousse Silver Plated Copper Box - Circa 1900

The box measures approximately 16.8cm long, 10cm wide (including hinge) and 6cm high. It weighs a heavy 1.05kg, being composed largely of silver plated copper (now very worn around the sides & base) with a wooden lining.

The external decoration on every surface but the base is floral - with a prominent place for the national flower of Japan, i.e. the chrysanthemum.

It has not been cleaned & polished, since being acquired in a recent house clearance sale, and can be fairly accurately dated to circa 1900. This accuracy comes from the tiny mark on the base which not only consists of Japanese Kanji characters but - helpfully - has the word JAPAN written below them. This marking of the country of origin on goods exported to the US became compulsory under US law from 1891 and would become the norm for goods exported to pretty much anywhere in the world. In the first decade or so of the 1900s, on the other hand, this marking morphed into the words MADE IN JAPAN. The year 1900 would place the piece into the Meiji period (1868-1912).

Other than wear to the silver plating, the main defect is the damage to one end of the hinge which has probably arisen due to aged metal fatigue following who knows how many openings and closings of the lid. The hinge itself, however,  remains pretty much fully functional.

Please see the high resolution images provided to form your own view of the condition, attribution and attractiveness of the caddy.

UK-BASED BUYERS ONLY PLEASE.