Antique Art Nouveau Jewelry Casket/Box - Footed Jewelry Box

1906 Antique - Dimensions are ; 4" high , 5 3/4" wide , 4" deep and the 'box' is 1 3/4" in depth . Material composition is gilt metal . This beautiful Art Nouveau Jewelry Casket is of the type that young women were gifted with to keep their first pieces of jewelry in around the turn of the last century . It is decorated in the very typical closed and open floral blooms and foliage . Jewelry was expensive and jewelry boxes were labor intensive works of art . At the end of the 19th century the Jennings Brothers developed a method of casting metal into small to medium sized jewelry caskets . The boxes designs were meant to imitate more expensive carved and gilded boxes that were beyond the finances of the average person . Their process enabled mass production and wide distribution at a very affordable price . As the average young girl had precious little jewelry , the boxes sizes were perfect . They were plated in gold and silver , flowers and foliage being a common theme , and the company thrived making the Jennings brothers wealthy . This casket dates to 1906 making this piece , which survives with most of its gilding , 117 years old . There is no damage and the hinge is solidly intact , however as is almost always the case the interior satin/silk/padding is long gone .