Large Scale Serpentine Ebony Box Anglo-Indian, Circa 1840

Description

A large-scale box of serpentine form, the exterior in polished ebony, the sides and front cut in a continuous undulating profile. Brass hinges to the reverse. Working lock and key. The interior lid set with a circular bone inlay medallion depicting acanthus scrolls, blossoms with polychrome red detailing, and a central flowering urn motif, on a coromandel wood ground. The interior of the box retains its coromandel wood lining. Anglo Indian, circa 1840.

Anglo-Indian boxes of this type were produced for the British export market during the colonial period, the serpentine outline and dense ebony exterior characteristic of workshops in Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka) and the Vizagapatam region of India.

Height: 6 in. (15 cm.)
Width: 15.5 in. (39 cm.)
Depth: 9.75 in. (25 cm.)