Fine, Colonial Indian Silver Cheroot Case

This well-made flattened, cylindrical case with gently tapering sides, perhaps intended for cheroots, is chased all over in high relief with trellised flower and leaf motifs. The cover is hinged, and is ingeniously released by pressing a small button disguised as the centre of a flower. (A cheroot is an early, hand-rolled, cigar, open at both ends).

The cover and base are engraved with the three initials of the original owner – probably ‘ITB’.

The case is surprisingly heavy in the hand. The silver used has not been economised on.

The style of the decoration of the case suggests Kutch provenance but of an earlier style, so perhaps the mid-19th century rather than in the latter half.

This is a particularly pleasing and elegant example of a personal item made for the local British marker.

   

Above: this painting attributed to the either of the Mexican artists Juan Patricio Morlete Ruiz (1713-1772) or Miguel Cabrera (1715-1768) shows how such a case was used. The painting shows such a case open, and filled with cheroots.