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This unusually large spherical brass box, cast in two halves, was used to carry lime, an essential part of the betel quid, and originates from the Batak people of the Lake Toba region of North Sumatra. This box is elaborately cast all over with floral motifs and is perhaps one of the finest examples known. It is a

in Sumatran brass casting work.

A smaller, less elaborate example is in the collection of the National Museum of Singapore (inventory no.B0100) and illustrated in Singh, B.,

, National Museum of Singapore, 1985, p. 18. Another, also small,is illustrated in Sibeth, A.,

, Thames & Hudson, 1991, p. 171.