17th century colonial Sinhalese ebony two-door cabinet with silver mounts

A Dutch-colonial ebony two-door cabinet with silver mounts Coromandel Coast, probably Masulipatnam, circa 1650-1680, the silver later H. 64.5 x W. 75 x D. 46 cm The present cabinet...

A large Indian Colonial ‘Vizagapatam’ pen-engraved bone inlaid ebony box Masulipatnam or Vizagapatam, 2nd half 18th century H. 10.8 x W. 47 x D. 34 cm ...

A fine Indo-Portuguese inlaid teak wood figure of Nagini India, Goa, 17th century Measure: H. 55 cm (with stand, and with ring for wall hanging) The sculpture can be perceived as such but probably is one of four legs of an Indo-Portuguese contador...

An exceptional Indo-Portuguese colonial mother-of-pearl veneered casket with silver mounts India, Gujarat, 2nd half of the 16th century, the silver mounts Goa or probably Lisbon Measures: H. 16 x W. 24.6 x D. 16.1 cm An exceptional Gujarati casket with a rectangular box and truncated pyramidal lid (with slopes on each side and a flat top) made from exotic wood, probably teak (Tectona grandis), covered with a mother-of-pearl mosaic. The tesserae, cut from the shell of the green turban sea snail (Turbo marmoratus, a marine gastropod) in the shape of fish scales, are pinned to the wooden structure with silver ball-headed nails. The casket is set on bracket feet on the corners. The masterfully engraved decoration of the silver mounts follows the most refined and erudite Mannerist repertoire of rinceaux and ferroneries dating from the mid-16th century. The high quality and refinement of the silver mounts and, likewise, the silver nails that replaced the original brass pins used to hold the mother-of-pearl tesserae in place indicate the work of a silversmith probably working in Lisbon in the second half of the 16th century. The Indian origin of this production, namely from Cambay (Khambhat) and Surat in the present state of Gujarat in north India, is, as for the last three decades, consensual and fully demonstrated, not only by documentary and literary evidence - such as descriptions, travelogues and contemporary archival documentation - but also by the survival in situ of 16th-century wooden structures covered in mother-of-pearl tesserae. A fine example is a canopy decorating the tomb (dargah) of the Sufi saint, Sheik Salim Chisti (1478-1572) in Fatehpur Sikri in Agra district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, north India. This is an artistic production, geometric in character and Islamic in nature, where usually the mother-of-pearl tesserae form complex designs of fish scales or, similar to the dishes also made using the same technique, with the thin brass sheets and pins, stylized lotus flowers. The truncated pyramidal shape corresponds, like their contemporary tortoiseshell counterparts also made in Gujarat, to a piece of furniture used in the Indian subcontinent within the Islamic world prior to the arrival of the first Portuguese. This shape, in fact, is very old and peculiar to East-Asian caskets, chests or boxes used to contain and protect Buddhist texts, the sutras. A similar chest is the famous and large reliquary chest from Lisbon cathedral that once contained the relics of the city's patron saint, Saint Vincent. Both match in shape, having the same kind of socle or pedestal and bracket feet, and in their engraved silver mountings, featuring the same type of refined, erudite decoration. Their differences lie in the silver borders that frame the entire length of the edges of the chest (both the box and the lid), pinned with silver nails, and on the lock plate, shaped like a coat of arms in the Lisbon example. Given the exceptional dimensions of the reliquary casket...

AN INDIAN ROSEWOOD AND EBONY BRASS MOUNTED BOX FOR THE ISLAMIC MARKET Malabar Coast, 18th century With a large drawer with several compartments under a lid with two com...

A strongbox was a type of travelling chest and these types of boxes were more common in England than anywhere else where they were fabricated between 1660 and 1720. The earliest proo...

A 17th century silver mounted Coromandel wood with mother of pearl inlay traveling box with a Interior fitted with drawers and a reliquary cabinet. W...

A Chinese elmwood makeup or jewelry chest from the early 20th century with five drawers and brass hardware. Created in China during the early years of the 20th century, this small el...

Spanish Colonial inlaid bone and faux tortoiseshell domed top box. Original hammered iron hinges. Circa 1680-1740. Excellent condition and very rare.

An Indian silver plated metal box from the 19th century with pierced foliage motifs. Created in India during the 19th century, this silver plated metal box attracts our attention wit...

This wooden box is a Japanese tabako-bon, or 'tobacco tray,' used to store tobacco and smoking accessories. Believed to have evolved from the traditional ...

19th century Anglo-Indian wooden box fitted with various compartments finely hand carved. The top is finely hand carved with the Taj Mahal. The interior with removable hand carved nine-lidded compartments, the front cover has a mirror, the whole exhibiting very fine workmanship. This fine late Victorian Anglo-Indian box from India is in great condition for it age. A beautiful example of an Anglo-Indian fine art...