Opinions/suggestions?

Nice box rowdy
How about a “S” shaped twig with a shiny finish.

-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon

I would use a raised square handle with the same chamfer as the lid. Before attaching it, try flipping it to see if it looks better upside down. By the way, it looks like someone it peeking around a spalting on the bottom right hand side of your second picture.

-- I always have tomorrow to stop procrastinating. WoodyWoodWrecker

i myself would use the same wood you used for the top for the handle. if you use a contrasting wood then that would perhaps draw attention to the handle rather then the spalting of the lid. As for the shape of the knob i would use the same shape as the box with small chamfer around the top of the knob as woodywoodwrecker suggested

-- i can do all things through christ who strengthens me

If you don’t want to distract from the spalting pattern (which is a good idea) then you should try to design the handle so that it doesn’t interrupt the view of the top. One solution would be a simple form with similar color so it doesn’t call attention to itself. One could argue for a long thin maple handle that was mounted, with two standoffs, parallel to the splating that allows for a minimum visual interruption of the spalted top.

-- criticism: the art of analyzing and evaluating the quality of a artistic work...