Antique Anglo-Indian Inlaid Hardwood Box with Carved Tiger Relief Lid, 1890s

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A carved rectangular relief panel decorates the hinged lid of this Anglo-Indian hardwood box, depicting a crouching big cat, likely … Read more A carved rectangular relief panel decorates the hinged lid of this Anglo-Indian hardwood box, depicting a crouching big cat, likely a tiger or lion, stalking through grassy scrubland beneath stylised trees. The relief is framed within a scalloped inner moulding and carved with directional chisel marks that define the animal's coat and natural terrain, creating textured contrast against the polished timber lid. Surrounding the central tableau is an intricate border of geometric micro-mosaic inlay, worked in the traditional Sadeli technique. Multiple concentric bands incorporate alternating triangular tesserae, chequerboard lines, and delicate stringing executed in light bone, dark timber, and warm hardwood slips. Similar chequered and linear inlaid bands wrap around the box apron on either side of the front closure.

Constructed with mitred corners and bevelled lid edges, the box measures 15.2 cm in width by 10.4 cm in depth, standing 5 cm high. The lid is secured at the front with a stamped metal hasp and catch fitting, fixed with small pin fasteners. On the underside, a recessed panel of textured, coarse woven fabric is set neatly into the perimeter timber framework. Dating from between 1900 and 1940, boxes of this type were produced in western Indian craft centres such as Bombay and Surat, catering to both domestic use and the colonial export market. Sized conveniently for keeping jewellery, trinkets, or small desk requisites, the box displays the characteristic combination of pictorial low-relief carving and painstaking micro-marquetry that defines Anglo-Indian decorative woodwork of the era. See less