|
In
early 2011 my son, Jay, and I visited Costa Rica to seek out the best
craftsmen of wooden boxes. What excited us about the wood workers
in Costa Rica is that they used their native exotic cocobolo wood, a
close cousin to and often mistaken for Brazilian rosewood.
Cocobolo is one of the most expensive woods to purchase and at 65
pounds per cubic foot it is twice the weight of cherry and so dense
that it sinks rather than floats. The wood is used for gunstocks
and knife handles (as the natural oils in the wood serve as a barrier
to water absorption). It is so hard that it easily and quickly
dulls cutting tools. As you can see from the photos below, the heartwood of the cocobolo tree is a beautiful rich color with exquisite grain and it polishes to a beautiful luster, in part due to its natural oils. The incredibly beautiful boxes that Jay and I hand-selected from the artist workshops are from cocobolo trees harvested per special permit issued by the Costa Rican government. In Costa Rica there are managed tree farms that grow the cocobolo to ensure that sustainable practices provide a continued supply of the exotic wood. Outside the workshops we saw cut cocobolo trees that would some day become boxes like these that we were so excited to discover and bring back home to Saper Galleries for you to enjoy. Note that these boxes are solid cocobolo, not a thin veneer on a less expensive wood. The inside bottom of each box is covered with a black padded material. The interior sides are of the same quality, finely sanded smooth finish as the exterior. The larger boxes are spline joined at the corners to ensure perfect joints (and also in that it is difficult for glues to hold due to the natural oils in the wood). Jay and I marveled while watching box lids being individually and literally hand sanded with small pieces of sand paper, a laborious, slow process that produced mounds of saw dust as each piece was treated with care and pride. As you have any questions about these cocobolo wooden boxes please call or email us now. If you want a unique gift for yourself or others you know, I guarantee you will enjoy and share in our excitement about the cocobolo wood boxes from Costa Rica. These are not the wooden boxes you see at art fairs. These are for the discerning collector who appreciates the exotic hardwood unique to the Pacific coastal region of Costa Rica and who loves the design, finish, feel, quality and beauty of cocobolo. Enjoy! |
 Roy with one of the artists after he and photographer Jay hand-selected dozens of cocobolo wood boxes from the workshop in Costa Rica.  This stack of cocobolo wood is destined to be made into the boxes you see in the photos below! Note the heartwood center surrounded by the lighter color sapwood. The boxes we selected are all from the dark, richer heartwood with some displaying highlights of the lighter color sapwood. |
 |
 |
| Cocobolo
wood square box with long handle 4 x 4 x 1 1/2" $44 |
|
 |
 |
| Cocobolo
wood wide
box
with long
handle 4 x 7 1/8 x 1 5/8" Sorry, sold out at $84 |
|
 |
 |
| Cocobolo
wood wide
box
with offset long
handle 4 3/4 X 8 1/2 X 2" Sorry, sold out at $112 |
|
 |
 |
| Cocobolo
wood square box with convex lid 5 x 5 x 2" $78 |
|
 |
 |
| Cocobolo
wood wide box with convex lid 4 3/4 x 7 1/4 x 2" Sorry, sold out at $98 |
|
 |
 |
| Cocobolo
wood square box with chamfered lid 5 1/8 x 5 1/8 x 1 5/8" $78 |
|
 |
 |
| Cocobolo
wood wide box with chamfered lid 5 1/8 x 6 1/4 x 1 1/2" $88 |
|
 |
 |
| Cocobolo
wood wide box with chamfered lid with arc handle and three compartments 5 5/8 x 10 3/8 x 2 1/4" Sorry, sold for $156 |
|
 |
 |
| Cocobolo
wood wide
box
in book shape 5 X 7 1/8 x 1 7/8" $112 |
|
 Cocobolo wood round box with convex lid 5 1/4 round x 1 7/8" tall $64 |
 Cocobolo wood shallow round box with wide lid 6 round x 2 3/4" tall $82 |
 Cocobolo wood tall round box with lid 5 1/2 round x 4 1/2" tall $88 |
 Cocobolo wood shallow round box with lid 4 1/2 round x 3 1/8" tall $66 |
 Cocobolo wood tray 5 1/2 square x 1 1/4" tall $46 |
 Cocobolo wood tray 6 x 3 3/8 x 1 1/8" tall $28 These two cocobolo wood trays can hold your coins, keys, glasses, contact lens case or be used for serving appetizers and other food items. They would also be beautiful on an office desk as a work of art! |
 Cocobolo wood bowl 7 1/2 x 6 3/4 x 2 1/8" Sorry, sold for $120 |
 Ron ron wood bowl 8 5/8 x 7 5/8 x 3 1/2" $110 Ron ron is a plantation grown Costa Rican wood highly prized for its density, strength, dark veins, moisture resistance and strength. This deep bowl has a high luster polished finish. |
 Cocobolo wood tray 6 x 4 3/8 x 2" Sorry, sold for $74 |
 Cocobolo wood bowl 6 3/4 x 5 5/8 x 2 1/4" Sorry, sold for $110 |
 Cocobolo wood bowl 7 x 7 x 2 3/4" Sorry, sold for $120 |
 Cocobolo wood bowl 8 x 7 1/2 x 3 1/2" Sorry, sold for $180 |
You may also enjoy the wooden boxes by artists Monica Martinez and Mark and Sharon Diebolt
