French Artist’s Oil Paint Box with Wooden Palette and Studio Contents, Early 20th Century

An evocative early 20th-century French artist’s oil paint box, believed to date from circa 1920–1940. Made from dovetailed wood with brass fittings and a carrying handle, the box retains an extensive collection of well-used painting materials gathered during its former life in an artist’s studio.

The fitted interior contains a removable wooden palette with thumb hole, brushes, numerous oil paint tubes, small pigment or paint bottles, metal compartments and rectangular metal flasks likely used for oil or painting medium. Layers of dried paint, stained labels and traces of colour remain throughout, giving the box a particularly convincing and visually rich appearance.

Both practical and highly decorative, this antique painter’s box would make an unusual addition to an art studio, library or collected interior. It could be displayed open to reveal its palette and surviving contents, or closed as a characterful wooden studio box.

Sourced in: South West France
Age: 1920s-1940s
Material: Wood and metal
What makes it special: Its beautiful rich patina and studio contents

French Artist’s Oil Paint Box with Wooden Palette and Studio Contents Details:

Length: 12” / 30.5cm

Width: 9.2” / 23.25cm

Height: 2.8” / 7cm

Condition: The box retains extensive signs of its former working life, including paint marks, scratches, staining and wear throughout. There is a long split to the wooden lid with an old metal repair, losses and chipping to the moulded edges, and damage to the hinged front section of the lid, which no longer folds fully inward or sits flush when closed. Further age-related separation and small losses are present around the case. The old paints and materials are sold for decorative and collectible purposes only.

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