Antique BOX, Scrimshaw Elephant Inlay Cigarette Trinket World War Circus Animals

Description

Offering a wonderful antique art deco era mahogany wooden box, with faux inlay (with nice random grain pattern) on fives sides and scrimshaw eyes. Two elephants balance on what appears to be a circus ball setup, or a train handcar/trolley, or possibly working during the war. Elephants are some of the largest mammals yet have a long history of balancing surprisingly well. All four sides are adorned with tiny hand carved faux ivory flowers.
Use for change, collectible coins, cigarettes, cigars, trinkets, jewelry, little pieces of affection, love notes and prayer beads. It may have once been used for calling cards, pirate coins, money, valuables. 6 1/8" inside width.
Measuring in centimeters and translated into standard inches, it's roughly 6 7/8" wide, 3 3/4" deep and 2 1/4" high. Because it measures in centimeters rather than inches, I feel this is African, Asian or even New Guinea/Polynesian. The wood is a gorgeous almost shimmery Mahogany looking wood. It could be island teak wood as well. It's signed with a sticker reading "Xobim" inside lid.
Handmade nails, hinges and screws hint to creation during the art deco 1910-1930 era, as does the less than 90 degree crosshatching, and geometric, linear design as a whole. Because this is very old, it has some condition issues, like the yellowing of the organic material, the loss of inlay in a few spots, a few chips of wood missing like near the trunk of the elephant on the right, and surface rust on hinges. There are no breaks or repairs that I see, and it sits flatly and sturdy. There is no odor besides a faint smell of old wood. Please see all photos and use zoom to view close ups before deciding.
I ship within a day of purchase, after careful and considerate packaging. Please reach out with any questions, or to request gift wrap, as I enjoy talking with fellow antiqu-ers and customers. Thank you for looking!