Fancy boxes of this type were standard manufacture of Vizagapatam, a port on the east coast of India where from the early 18th century craftsmen were making furniture worked with ivory for European consumers. This pieces was probably made specifically for the Universal Exhibition, held in Paris in 1855. Its lid is carved with a central oval lozenge with projecting rays, a motif that was enormously popular in the decoration of 19th-century furniture made in India in an English style or for the Western consumer.