A SILVER INLAID BRASS SCRIBE'S WRITING BOX

LUCKNOW OR THE DECCAN, INDIA, SECOND HALF 18TH CENTURY

Details

A SILVER INLAID BRASS SCRIBE'S WRITING BOX
LUCKNOW OR THE DECCAN, INDIA, SECOND HALF 18TH CENTURY
Of rectangular form with stepped lid, interior with removable tray with cusped legs, three compartments for ink with silver-inlaid floral decoration and a pen compartment with cusped shelf at either end, original latch and chains, sides and exterior of lid with silver inlaid floral decoration punctuated with bands of chevrons, areas of loss to the inlay
6 x 13 x 6½in. (15.3 x 33 x 16.5cm.)

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Lot Essay

This is a rare example of silver-inlaid work for which there are no direct published examples. The interior and the construction of the box would suggest a date of no earlier than 1700. The technique of lightly inlaying silver onto the surface of the box in similar floral patterns is found in inlaid jades attributed to either 18th century Lucknow or the Deccan, (see Stephen Markel, 'Jewelled Arts of Mughal India', Jewellery Studies, vol. 10, 2004, pp. 76-98).

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