TOP LOOKING DOWN

DIMENSIONS OF THE BOX: 7" left to right; 5" front to back; ~3" bottom to top.

TOP FRONT

An angled shot of the front of the lid. My research says this is an enameled copper piece.

FRONT SIDE

Looking straight at the front of the box

RIGHT SIDE

Looking straight at the right side of the box

LID RIGHT SIDE

A shot of the lif from the right side

BACK

Looking straight on at the back of the box

HINGE SCREWS

These are the 11 jeweler's screws attaching the hinge to the box

LEFT SIDE

Looking striaght on at the left side of the box

LID LEFT SIDE

A shot of the lid from the left side

CHIP LEFT SIDE

This is the main chip - it is on the left side of the lid on the edge. There are a few minor chips if you follow the edge towards the back of the box.

BOTTOM

A shot of the bottom of the box

LCT 8839

This is the marking on the box. It took some help from the kind folks at antiquers.com to see the L and the T. I only saw a C and thought the rest was a squiggly border :) The number scheme (4 numbers with no letters or second set of numbers) seems to date the piece at the end of the 19th century (1897-1899). I'm not positive.

OPENED

This is what happens to the box when it is opened. I have always thought it to be a trinket or jewelry box but it doesn't make sense that it was designed with a top heavy lid. Maybe the piece was purposed for something else?

INSIDE BOTTOM

A shot of the inside of the bottom half of the box. The LCT shows. My best guess is the box is enameled copper - is that glazed copper on the inside or some sort of dye or paint?

INSIDE LID

A shot of the inside of the lid

HINGE NUMBERS

A shot of the hinge - there are numbers etched into the hinge: "590/23". The hinge seems very "new" but from my understanding the box was stored away by my great-grandmother and grandmother and father.

TIFFANY #8838 AUCTION

This is the LiveAuctioneers listing for the #8838 Tiffany Studios piece. I find it interesting that this piece and my box are both oceanic in theme. The auction was 4/2/2016 at State of Mind Auctions (Lot #300). The piece is described as "retaining the green valour". As seen from my photos my "Lobster Box" does not have this feature.

tiffany 8838

This is a solo shot of the #8838 piece

tiffany hinged piece

This is the bottom of #8838. It is drastically different then the bottom of my box. Also the signature seems more like traditional Tiffany signatures - and it is dated.