Ashwell Trinket Lidded Box

White bone-effect ground, real horn inlay in caramel and dark brown loops, handcrafted in India — the trinket box that brings something genuinely distinctive to a dressing table or desk.

The Ashwell Trinket Box draws on a centuries-old Indian craft tradition — inlay work in bone and horn — and translates it into a quietly contemporary graphic. A white bone-effect ground hand-inlaid with elongated horn loops in caramel, amber and dark brown, forming a rhythmic pattern across the top and sides of the box. The interior is a warm walnut-toned timber, giving the piece a deliberate contrast between the cool white exterior and the rich brown inside when the lid is lifted. Handcrafted in India by artisans working in a long tradition of inlay craft, so each piece carries the natural variation of real materials and hand-applied work. A small, distinctive object that earns its place on display rather than living in a drawer.

What sets it apart

The detail that makes it different

Most decorative inlay boxes on the market lean heavily on traditional Indian florid motifs — paisleys, flowers, dense intricate patterns — which can feel busy or culturally pastiched in a contemporary interior. The Ashwell takes a different approach. The inlay is a clean, graphic linework pattern of elongated loops, drawing on mid-century graphic design as much as Indian craft tradition, so the piece reads as a deliberate contemporary object rather than a souvenir. Each loop is individually cut from natural horn and set into the bone-effect ground by hand, which means the tonal variation across each piece — caramel, amber, dark brown, occasional patterning — is genuinely unique to the piece rather than a printed pattern. The warm timber interior is the final small detail worth flagging: it reveals itself only when the lid is open, a quiet reward for engaging with the object. Practical for storing jewellery, watches, cufflinks or small keepsakes; visually substantial enough to leave out on display.