Writing Box
ca. 1855-ca. 1867 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This writing case has several uses. The lid is marked out for various games, including cribbage, chess and fox and geese. It lifts up and folds out into a velvet-lined writing slope with compartments for ink, pens and paper. The maker has decorated the box with inlay of sadeli, a type of micro-mosaic made up of faceted strips of wood and ivory. The sadeli technique was widely practised in the area around Bombay. This piece was made in Calcutta, probably by a family of sadeli artisans who had migrated there from Bombay at sometime round about the 1850s.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Rosewood, inlaid with ebony, ivory and sadeli, the exterior veneered, the interior lined with sandalwood, with a brass lock, silvered brass hinges and purple velvet lined writing surface |
| Brief description | Writing box and games board, rosewood, c.1855 or c.1867, Calcutta. |
| Physical description | Writing box and games board. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | Acquired by the Indian Museum possibly from the Universal Exhibition, Paris of 1855 or 1867. |
| Summary | This writing case has several uses. The lid is marked out for various games, including cribbage, chess and fox and geese. It lifts up and folds out into a velvet-lined writing slope with compartments for ink, pens and paper. The maker has decorated the box with inlay of sadeli, a type of micro-mosaic made up of faceted strips of wood and ivory. The sadeli technique was widely practised in the area around Bombay. This piece was made in Calcutta, probably by a family of sadeli artisans who had migrated there from Bombay at sometime round about the 1850s. |
| Bibliographic reference | Jaffer, Amin Furniture from British India and Ceylon: A Catalogue of the Collections in the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Peabody Essex Museum. London : V&A Publications, 2001. 416 p., ill. ISBN 1851773185, p.234, pl.76.. |
| Other number | 4,287 - India Museum Slip Book |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 02264(IS) |
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| Record created | December 2, 2002 |
| Record URL |
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