Kandy Sri Lankan Silver Jewllery Box

Chased Silver ‘Cushion-shaped’ Jewellery Box

This fine, deeply chased and engraved silver jewellery box is high-grade silver. It it is an excellent example of Kandy (central Sri Lankan highlands) silver chasing work prevalent in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. Caskets of this type appealed to colonialists and their wives but initially were intended for use by Kandyan aristocratic families.

The casket stands on four spherical feet. The lid is hinged and fits tightly. The casket is in the form of a rectangular plump pillow with curved ends. It is very finely chased on all sides with typically Kandyan scrolling foliage and flowers within floral borders. The most prominent floral form used amongst the foliage is the

katiri mala flower.

The base is finely engraved with interlocking floral and foliage motifs incorporating four Kandyan parrots, all within lotus petal borders, and around a central lotus flower motif.

The casket is in fine condition. There are no repairs, dents or splits. It sits flatly and solidly and the lid closes tightly.

Coomaraswamy, A.K.,

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

UK art market