2024 Handcrafted Black Walnut Mitered Dovetail Jewelry Box With Floating Curly Maple Panel Top, [9”x6”x3”]

2024 Interior Dimensions:
7.75"x4.75"x1.5"

Sliding Tray:
4x3x.75"

Bottom Tray"
[2] 1.5x4"
[1] 3x4"

Inspiration for this jewelry boxes came from a variety of sources, but mainly from the book “Chinese Domestic Furniture…” by Gustav Ecke. Ecke did an amazing job of detailing the complexity of furniture from the Ming Dynasty. Due to the tropical/oily wood used during this time period, craftsmen had to adapt their techniques to what best suited the material at hand. One of the workarounds was using complex joinery methods that didn't rely on glue or nails.

One of those joinery methods was the mitered dovetail. This joinery method combined the tried & true strength of dovetails with the clean and elegant lines of a mitered joint. The floating panel used for the top was also used as a way to avoid splitting/cracking common with solid wood tops. The panel was allowed a small amount of space to expand and contract with seasonal humidity changes while still being held secure.

The material for this jewelry box was assembled with minimal machining. A majority of processing was done by hand. Great care was taken at each step of the build process to ensure that everything felt nice and smooth. The interior was oiled, sealed with shellac and waxed. The exterior of the box was also finished similarly, with the addition of being lacquered on top of the shellac before being waxed and polished for a matte finish.