Vintage REUGE Italian Jewelry Music Box floral inlaid wood plays Edelweiss

This REUGE inlaid wood music box was made in Italy (circa Mid-20th Century) and plays "Edelweiss" (See pic #3). These types of intricately, inlaid wood boxes are often referred to as "marquetry" or "intarsia", as they were highly developed in Renaissance Italy.

REUGE became renowned for their intricate musical movements in the 19th & 20th centuries. Combining the art of wood inlay with a musical mechanism, these boxes served as both functional storage and decorative art pieces, playing popular melodies of their time.

"Edelweiss" was a song written for the 1959 musical, "The Sound of Music" by Richard Rodgers (Composer) and Oscar Hammerstein II (Lyricist). The edelweiss flower was a symbol of purity, love for one's homeland, hope, & patriotism in the Musical. It was the last song every written by this great partnership. The box can be used for storing jewelry or other small valuables (See pic #12).

It measures 6" long (at its longest point) x 2 1/4" tall (including the legs) x 4 deep. The interior red velvet section is divided into a small storage space on the left and a top over the music mechanism on the right equaling 4 3/8" long x 2 1/2" wide. The storage area is 2" long x 2 1/2" wide by 1 1/8 deep (See pics #12 & #13).

The box weighs 12.5 ounces without the packaging materials.

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