Red Pyramid Box

The paper wrapping this pyramid-lidded box is hand-painted to resemble fantastically-colored porphyry, the speckled stone prized by Roman antiquity. The box is a beautiful, capacious catch-all with many possibilities. Flip over the lid inserting the sculptural portion inside to “transform” it into a flat top lidded box to slide into a bookshelf. Or remove the lid entirely to serve as a pedestal for a small sculpture or a curiosity from your collection. We love placing them as a pair, flanking either end of a mantel or chest.

Thomas Engelhart references the angles and polished surfaces of ancient artifacts in his hand-painted paper creations. A native of Charleston, South Carolina, he now lives and works in New York City. The faceted shapes, jewel tones and marbleized, speckled and malachite finishes of his objects are modern-day echoes of ancient porphyry and hardstone pieces. He precisely trims to shape and paints his papers, which then are delicately applied to hand sculpted boxes, tabletops, or mirrors of his own design.

H 10in, W 7in, D 5.3in