A Deccani tinned-copper openwork pandan
India, 17th Century
of splayed form, the lid flaring to a shoulder surmounted by a dome with raised central boss, profusely engraved and decorated in openwork with a repeat design of split-palmette interlace and floral and foliate motifs, the boss with a central rosette
18.1 cm. diam. max
Footnotes:
Boxes of this form were produced from the second half of the 17th Century to the middle of the 18th Century and were used to contain pan or betel, which consisted of slices of betel nut mixed with lime paste and wrapped in betel leaves. The chewing of pan was considered an important part of courtly life. Such boxes were produced in a variety of metalwork techniques, outlined in Mark Zebrowski's Gold, Silver and Bronze from Mughal India, London, 1997, pp. 263-277. Whereas Mughal examples were decorated with the naturalistic floral motifs associated with Mughal art in Northern India, the stylised interlace of the present lot is typical of Deccani taste. For an example of a gilt copper 17th Century openwork Deccani pandan, and a bidri pandan of comparable form, see op. cit. p. 267, cat. nos. 455a&b & 453. For an 18th Century openwork example sold at Christie's, see Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds, 20 October 2016, lot 119.