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Musical Boxes
Posted by Gill Jones on 15/07/2013
You may think that what you have in front of you when you buy a musical box is a piece of history and a financial investment, but there’s something else, something personal, sentimental. It may have been bought for a child or an adult, for play or for love, whichever the case the box is full of memories, some good some bad, but all the same the story of someone else’s life. I realise that perhaps you could say that about almost any piece of antique furniture or piece of art, if it’s sat in someone’s sitting room or dining area, party to years of family squabbles, marriages and deaths, reunions and separations. But a music box is something else.
There’s something that sets it apart for me, perhaps for more personal reasons. A music box certainly has a degree of sentimentality about it, perhaps because of the musical element, the eerie sound as you crank it up, or the movement of the inner wheels and cogs that turn whatever’s inside around on its clockwork journey, like it’s been done a million times before. I can only think of another antique that makes me feel that way and that’s Victorian dolls, they always fill me with wonder and fascination as to their history.
I had a jewellery box as a child and can remember listening to it over and over again, each time I opened the lid the same magic, the same excitement and joy. Of course, it wasn’t quite as elaborate or as exquisitely made as the ones on www.antiques.co.uk however, but I still have my box, my mother claimed it when I left home and I claimed it back when she died. My very own personal box of memories.
There are some quite breath-taking musical boxes on www.antiques.co.uk and not all purely for children. The sewing casket and music box dates back to the 18th century complete with mother of pearl instruments and it’s exquisite, shaped like a piano with a hidden music box, triggered no doubt by the key at the side. It’s in immaculate condition and one wonders what secrets it holds, what stories it must have been part of.
The 19th century “Billet-doux” is equally stunning with its mother of pearl and wood veneered music box with two compartments complete with locks. The literal meaning for Billet-doux from the French is sweet letter, but it probably just means love letter. So, how enchanting then, a billet-doux musical box that once held love letters, declarations of love, passionate confessions or forbidden love. Not only do we have the musical element, but also the secret drawers which contained a person’s whole life story. If I owned such a box I think my imagination would quite run away with me. There are plenty of other equally enchanting musical boxes on www.antiques.co.uk such as the large Victorian rosewood box and the Swiss music box with its dark wood and deep interior. If you are as enchanted by musical boxes as I am then please take a look, and let your imagination run away with you.