Sewing And Needlework Boxes
Tunbridge Ware Needlework and Sewing Boxes
‘The devil makes work for idle hands’ is a phrase only too redolent in the Victorian home where hard work and an industrious ethos demanded many hours dedicated to sewing and mending. Consequently the sewing box, needlework box or sewing basket proved to be a central necessity and invariably in constant use. Everything had its place and there was a place for everything, clean and tidy.
Daughters of the family would be instructed by their mother or governess into the arts of needlework and the essential sewing supplies and accessories such as pincushions and tape measures that have often survived in some Tunbridge Ware boxes until the present day.
Such boxes were invariably supplied with internal and removable trays with multiple divisions and compartments. Perhaps
the most enduring of Victorian needlework skills are best witnessed today in
the number of ‘samplers’ with cross stitching, quilting and other techniques that are often named and dated and sometimes include
the alarmingly young ages of those responsible.
The makers of Tunbridge Ware were able to provide the Victorian seamstress with a bewildering variety of sewing supplies including pin boxes, pin trays, bodkins, pin books, bobbins and sewing baskets. Other variations in white wood with hand painted floral or landscapes include baskets, panniers and table clamps.
The use of contrasting dark and white wood slender panel decoration referred to as ‘Stick Ware’ was also offered by the Tunbridge makers on all manner of sewing accessories.
Tunbridge Ware Pin-Cushion With Sliding Lid c1870
Tunbridge Ware Pin-Cushion With Sliding Lid c1870
£95.00
Tunbridge Ware Cotton Reel Box with Geometric Marquetry and Isometric Cube Pattern c1850
Tunbridge Ware Cotton Reel Box with Geometric Marquetry and Isometric Cube Pattern c1850
£245.00
A Small Tunbridge Ware Yarn Bobbin with An Applied Print of The Monument London c1825
A Small Tunbridge Ware Yarn Bobbin with An Applied Print of The Monument London c1825
£55.00
A Sarcophagal Tunbridge Ware Sewing Box with Isometric Cube Design c1835
A Sarcophagal Tunbridge Ware Sewing Box with Isometric Cube Design c1835
£685.00
A Large Three Drawer Tunbridge Ware Jewellery Chest and Work Box c1925
Tunbridge Ware - A Large Three Drawer Jewellery Chest and Work Box c1925
£785.00
Tunbridge Ware Sewing Box with Eridge Castle Topographic Mosaic c1860
Tunbridge Ware Sewing Box with Eridge Castle Topographic Mosaic c1860
£425.00
Tunbridge Ware - A Rectangular Sewing Box with Rounded and Square-Ended Lid featuring Floral Mosaics c1870
Tunbridge Ware - A Rectangular Sewing Box with Rounded and Square-Ended Lid featuring Floral Mosaics c1870
£350.00
Tunbridge Ware - An Early Sewing Box with Intricate Inlaid Marquetry c1840
Tunbridge Ware - An Early Sewing Box with Intricate Inlaid Marquetry c1840
£585.00
Tunbridge Ware - A Very Finely Decorated Sewing Box with 'Hurst Wood Cottage' Mosaic c1840
Tunbridge Ware - A Very Finely Decorated Sewing Box with 'Hurst Wood Cottage' Mosaic c1840
£525.00
Tunbridge Ware - An Early Sewing Box with Mounted Brighton Pavilion Print c1820
Tunbridge Ware - An Early Sewing Box with Mounted Brighton Pavilion Print c1820
£685.00
Tunbridge Ware - Rectangular Box with Pin Cushion Lid c 1855
Tunbridge Ware - Rectangular Box with Pin Cushion Lid c 1855
£165.00
A Substantial Tunbridge Ware Work Box with Mosaic Image of Tonbridge Castle c1895-1915
A Substantial Tunbridge Ware Work Box with Mosaic Image of Tonbridge Castle c1895-1915
£475.00
A Very Fine And Rare Tunbridge Ware Octagonal Work Box by Edmund Nye c1850
A Very Fine Tunbridge Ware Octagonal Work Box by Edmund Nye c 1850
£950.00
A Tunbridge Ware Pin Cushion and Reel or Silk Box with Floral Mosaics c1850
A Tunbridge Ware Pin Cushion and Reel or Silk Box with Floral Mosaics c1850
£390.00