Posted by Sometimes thrifting can get a little weird. Here’s the story–I had to drop off orders at the post office and go grocery shopping so I popped into my neighborhood thrift store along the way. Within a few minutes I spotted this chunky wood and tooled leather box with heavy brass hardware.
And I’ll tell you I looked at this box every which way for a good four minutes. At $28 it wasn’t cheap and it was bigger than I liked to ship (14″ wide), but in the end I knew I’d regret not picking it up. I tucked it under my arm and went to find a cart. It was then a woman walked in the door and saw the box under my arm. “Wow. That’s fabulous. If you change your mind about buying it let me know.” Fine. Later she tracked me down in the store and asked if I was still buying it. Yup. We had a third encounter and then a fourth in the check-out line where she told me that she runs events and this box would be perfect for her pirate-themed event. She was a nice person, but it was starting to feel…weird. Obsessive. How many times did I have to tell her that yes, I was buying the box?
I had a similar experience when I was buying an enamel Egyptian revival necklace at a Junior League thrift store. I was standing in line to pay for it when the woman in front of me started oohing and aahing over it and then telling me about their trip to Egypt and how she LOVED all things Egyptian and how much she LOVED the necklace I was buying. Blah, blah, blah. And I smiled sweetly. I knew she wanted me to offer it to her, but that wasn’t going to happen. (Not. Going. To. Happen.) Ten minutes later I ran into her husband in a nearby grocery store and he looked at me and said with rancor “You again!” Jeez Louise!! Why was I worthy of so much disdain?
Has this ever happened to you? Please share in the comments!
But back to the box. It’s a Colonial-style Peruvian piece likely made of mohena wood with ancient Incan/Aztec motifs tooled in leather inserts.
It had some light scratches to the wood towards the bottom (as shown in the first photo) which I’ve already taken care of with Booz Mystery Paste. Looks like new.
I think it’s likely made by Julio Sanchez. Here’s a YouTube video of him making a similar box. His new boxes are a bit smaller and sell for around $200.
Anyway, I am glad I picked it up. It’s a handsome, practical, hand-made chest.
Wishing you happy hunting!
Karen
Hunting for Vintage 