Antique 19th Century Indian Bidriware Pandan Silver & Brass Casket Jewelry Box

A fine and important late 15th century Mamluk period inlaid penbox (Qalamdan), possibly Syria or Mosul, late 1400's. The slightly domed penbox is lavishly inlaid with gold and silver...

A rare, Dutch Colonial, Batavian (now Jakarta) Dutch East Indies silver and tortoise shell Sirih casket, circa 1750. The casket was used for storing highly prized betel nut, which was chewed ritually by high ranking Indonesian officials and adopted by settlers from the Dutch East Indies Company...

An important Islamic Khurasan bronze and silver-inlaid inkwell & cover, Eastern Persia, Circa 1200. The inkwell of cylindrical form and having a shallow dome top cover with a tall knopped finial and inlaid with a twin band of scrolled silver. The base of the dome and the rim of the cover having bands on interlaced silver inlay, the inkwell having three loop handles. The body of the inkwell having two bands of silver inlaid Naskh script, between the bands are twin panels...

A good antique Zanzibar, Omani dowry chest, circa 1880. The chest having a hinged lid clad in decorated copper repousse work, the front and sides having similar decoration, the insi...

A pair of very fine silver filigree rosewater sprinklers Possibly India, Karimnagar, early 18th century Measures: Height 31.6 cm and 31.7 cm,...

A scarce fine quality antique silver-inlaid solid brass betel nut box (Lutuan), dating to the second half of the 19th / early 20th century, hand-crafted in Mindanao, Philippines. Boxes such as this were used to store the areca nut (also known as the betel nut) which would be wrapped in a betel leaf with lime paste and other ingredients, often tobacco, for chewing. Similar to the European tea caddy, these boxes often served as a way to impress while showing off ones wealth. Betel chewing was prevalent in the southern Philippines as in much of the rest of Southeast Asia. Wealthier Maranao families on Mindanao were able to afford elaborate silver-inlaid brass betel boxes such as this example. Such boxes were used to show off to guests and from which they were offered betel and the other component such as leaves and lime to make up the betel quid. Rare large size, most extant examples of such boxes tend to measure around 5 inches in length. At slightly more than 7.75 inches the example here is larger than most. The distinctive decorative box features a very heavy strong-box like rectangular shaped chest form with canted corners, copper handles, and a conforming hinged lid, lifting open to reveal an interior divided into three compartments covered by four hinged lids. Each of these doors is inlaid with silver in stylized orchid flower patterns. Exceptionally executed throughout, the arabesque silver inlaid exterior is decorated to the top with a large orchid motif within scrolling obid-obid (stylized rope) borders. The front, back and sides are inlaid with sets of stylized tail feathers of the sari-manok bird beneath which are unusual, highly stylized whimsical zoomorphic faces that appear like cat or tiger faces. (Such stylisation is accounted for by Southeast Asian Islamic preferences to avoid the overt and this potentially idolatrous representation of animal and human forms. Designs such as these are drawn from a local design repertoire that has its origins in wood carving. Although the spread of Islam in the Philippines began in the 14th century, mostly through the influence of Muslim merchants from the western Malay Archipelago, decorative arts in this design remain exceptionally rare. This lutuan represents a fine example of Islamic metalwork from the most eastern outreach of Islamic art and civilisation: Mindanao island being significantly further east than even China – artwork from Islamic Southeast Asia remains chronically under-represented in the world’s major collections of Islamic art. PROVENANCE / ACQUISITION Acquired from highly reputable auction house, Austin Auction Gallery, established 1983, Austin, Texas. References Brownrigg, H., Betel Cutters...

A MUGHAL INDIAN BRASS ENGRAVED BETEL PANDAN BOX Northern India. 18th Century. Length: 4 1/4" in. (10.9 cm.), width: 3 1/4" in., (8.3 cm.), height: 2" in.,...

1970s Egyptian carved silver box in Arabic style with wooden interior.