Antique Carved Bone Figural Cheroot Holder With Shell Inlay Eyes

Details

Description

A sculptural antique cheroot holder carved in an ivory-toned bone material, circa 1900, with expressive figural detailing and inlaid eyes. … Read more A sculptural antique cheroot holder carved in an ivory-toned bone material, circa 1900, with expressive figural detailing and inlaid eyes. The surface features incised geometric decoration and a distinctive figural face and bird-like form, giving the piece a strong visual presence even at a small scale. Finished with a warm red-toned collar at the base and beautiful age character throughout. A standout tobacciana collectible that reads today as a miniature sculpture—ideal for a curated library shelf, desk vignette, or cabinet of curiosities display.

JUNE'S THOUGHTS
This piece is pure design seasoning. It’s compact, sculptural, and full of hand-carved detail—exactly the kind of object that makes a curated interior feel intentional instead of simply “decorated.” I love it as a tabletop accent in a library or study, layered into a shelf styling moment, or placed on a bar cart where it becomes an instant conversation piece. If your home leans collected, eclectic, or quietly maximalist, this is the kind of small object that gives the whole room a little more intelligence.

COLLECTOR'S NOTE
This carved bone cheroot holder sits at a fascinating crossroads of 19th-century material culture—where export trade carving, colonial smoking customs, and folk figural design overlap in a way that can be difficult to pin to a single workshop or country with certainty. Bone as a material adds another layer of complexity: it ages beautifully, takes intricate carving well, and was widely used across multiple regions for small-scale objects made for travel, trade, and personal use. That combination—highly decorative carving, portable scale, and global-era smoking culture—also invites over-interpretation, because similar forms were produced in more than one place for similar markets. While examples of carved cheroot holders appear in Western contexts as well, details on this piece—particularly the overall figural vocabulary and the warm red collar, which may be a lacquered or composite band—suggest it was likely produced for the export trade in South or Southeast Asia, circa late 19th century to around 1900.
In short, this is best understood as a richly carved, globally influenced object of its time: part tobacciana collectible, part miniature sculpture, and unmistakably the work of a skilled hand. See less