Featured Any ideas on age, origin, etc on this box?

hi,

thinking this might have some decent age. The centerpiece looks like it is hand painted on a slab or marble or granite. There are little white crystals that kinda gleam when the light hits it right. The box is wood but almost feels like fooled leather a bit. I think it’s the lacquer finish. The interior is lined in foil like paper or... Could this be a tobacco box?

many help is so very appreciated

Thank you and have a great weekend I hope ya find some great treasures

 

Tea-caddies are lined in foil, aren't they?

 

Ooh, I hadn’t thought of that. I did not know they were

 

Yeah, I think it was to stop the taste of the tea from being affected by the wood, etc. Or something like that.

The box doesn't look like the right shape to be a tea-caddy, but I can't think of any other kind of box that's foil-lined.

 

Pure guesswork, picking up on OP's mention of tobacco as a possibility: could it be a cigar box?

Does it smell of anything other than wood and mustiness?

 

Maybe it is for owl treats.

 

Alabaster?

 

I hadn’t thought about alabaster. Kids feels like it. Owl treats is too cute. Lol. It does have a strangely sweet smell but nothing along the lines if tea or tobacco that I recognize

 

looks like the lining might not be original. lining a box with aluminum foil is a way to make a "faraday box" to hold car fobs, credit cards, and smart phones to prevent RFID access. could this be a homemade security box? or maybe just for cookies?

 

A friend of mine has one of those for his Subaru Outback keys

 

SMART!! I just wrap my fobs in a foil made pouch that stays on unless am using a set!!

 

What does the foil do for the fob? I’m lost. Lmao

 

If you toss your keys in a basket by the door, or keep an extra car fob there in case you can't find your keys, someone outside the house could hack it to unlock and start your car in order to steal it. Hackers can also hack credit cards, phones, and other devices from a distance. A metal lined pouch or box can provide some protection from this, reportedly.

 

According to my friend 2016 Subaru Outbacks key fobs send a constant signal to the vehicle draining the battery. He bought his used from a friend with the key fobs enclosed in foil. He took it off. His battery was dead the next day.

 

I'm going to guess it may be Japanese, from the treatment of the foliage in the tree and the owl which looks a little like a Scops owl. I can't add anything about the use other than what has already been covered.