Fine Chased Silver Box, Kandy, Sri Lanka, circa 1890

Fine Chased Silver Box

Kandy, Sri Lanka

circa 1890

length: 19.2cm, height: 7cm, weight: 500g

This particularly fine silver box is of rectangular shape but with rounded, scalloped ends. The hinged lid is slightly domed and chased with Kandyan vegetal and floral scrollwork.

The lid fits tightly and is domed.

The base is beautifully engraved with a geometric floral design.

Such boxes were used by the Kandyan nobility and others to store small items of jewellery. Most probably they were also produced for the nineteenth century colonial market as keepsakes and to showcase the silversmith’s considerable skill.

The box has a good weight and is in excellent condition.

References

Coomaraswamy, A.K., Mediaeval Sinhalese Art, Pantheon Books, 1956 reprint of the 1908 edition.

Provenance

UK art market

Inventory no.: 3280

SOLD