Ivory casket, India, 19th century

Box with silver mounts decorated with floral ornament, which is said to have contained or have been accompanied by a miniature Koran. The ivory is carved in relief with leaf and circular floral designs. The casket has a metal handle, hasp and staple, while its corners and sides are strengthened with metal bands.

This casket is said to have belonged to Bahadur Shah II (1775-1862), the last Mughal emperor of India (r. 1837-1857), although by the time he became king the city of Delhi was the only territory still under Mughal rule. In 1857 Bahadur Shah became a figurehead of the Indian rebellion against British rule and was arrested and tried by the British after the capture of Delhi and exiled to Burma.
The casket was bought from Miss C.A. Cannon, whose letter preserved on the Nominal File in the V&A Archive states:
"Ivory Casket.
Given to my Father by his old friend Sir Theophilus Metcalfe [sic], who had just passed judgement on the King of Delhi.
My Father was staying with him at the time. It was then that he gave my Father the casket, which contained the miniature Koran which was the "mascot" of the old king [IM.18-1912]. Sir Theophilus himself took it from the table beside the king's bed, to the old king's great grief - why it was taken from him I do not know".
Letter dated 10.6. 37.
Miss Cannon had previously offered the casket (with the Koran as a gift) to the Museum in February 1912, but it had not been accepted. The provenance is the same whether given in 1912 or 1937, but the association between box and Koran is not necessarily correct: the box was found on the king's table, and the Koran beneath his pillow.

IM.35-1937