Description:
SB403: Anglo Indian fully fitted sewing   box of pyramided shape veneered with ivory profusely inlaid with sadeli mosaic,  the box  standing on turned ivory feet. Inside the box is compartmentalized and fitted for sewing, with a liftout tray of  fragrant sandalwood and has supplementary lids and trays each veneered with ivory inlaid with sadeli,  circa 1845.

Origin: India

Circa: 1845

Materials: Sandalwood ivory ebony rosewood and metal.

Size: 33 cm wide by 23 cm by 13 cm (including feet):   13 inches wide by   9 inches by   5 inches (including feet).

Condition: very good original condition. Small loses and blemishes which have been consolidated. Please look at large images which are accessed by clicking on the smaller. Working lock with original key.

The inlay is rich and complex, and yet remains totally controlled. A box of this high quality represents  hundreds of hours of master craftsman work.

Inside the box has a sumptuous compartmentalized liftout tray of dovetail construction with supplementary lids each decorated with sadeli mosaic.  

The box retains its original sewing accessories. There are four thread barrels each with sadeli  inlaid into their tops. 

Curiously they have never had the hole for the drawing of thread drilled. there is also a tape measure, designed to hold a silk ribbon which would be marked with units of measurement. However it seems that the tape was never fitted and no slot for the tape has ever been cut.

There is a framed mirror in the lid  with a velvet covered compartment behind.

The ancient art of sadeli Mosaic is said to have been introduced from Shiraz in Persia via Sind to Bombay, a long time before the Anglo Indian boxes were made. It was a technique, which required a high degree of skill and patience. It was executed very lavishly, in that the frequent cuts wasted a great amount of the precious materials used. The workmanship was however more than commensurable to the value of the materials.

The superb craftsmanship is evident in the control of the patterns in the complex corner joints with mitered and specially shaped elements.

Ivory, pewter, rosewood ebony and stained ivory were cut into faceted rods which were bound together to form geometric patterns. When the glue had set, the rods were sliced in transverse sections. This gave the maker a number of angled circular pieces in the original pattern. Several variations of patterns could be achieved by combining the materials in different ways. The ivory was sometimes dyed green as here to give an extra colour.

Ivory, pewter, rosewood ebony and stained ivory were cut into faceted rods which were bound together to form geometric patterns. When the glue had set, the rods were sliced in transverse sections. This gave the maker a number of angled circular pieces in the original pattern. Several variations of patterns could be achieved by combining the materials in different ways. The ivory was sometimes dyed green as here to give an extra colour.

 The orchestration of the pyramided top with tapered plains is truly amazing. The design works and is a delight in both a totality and in the minutia.  

The superb craftsmanship is evident in the control of the patterns in the complex corner joints with mitered and specially shaped elements.

Beneath one of the supplementary lids  there is a turned ivory bobbin with divisions for several coloured threads.

One of the lids is inscribed with pen: 

"For Miss M. F.  Potes(?)
with best from
P. M. Potes (?)"

 

The box has a set of four turned ivory thread barrels and two cylinder shaped boxes and a further turned holder for a silk tape measure.  Each is decorated with a circle of  sadeli  mosaic.

Curiously the barrels  have never had the hole for the drawing of thread drilled. there is also a tape measure, designed to hold a silk ribbon which would be marked with units of measurement. 

However it seems that the tape was never fitted and no slot for the tape has ever been cut.

Detail of the inlay on the tops of  the turned circular boxes. The inlay combines ivory ebony rosewood and pewter.

The makers (reputed to be Persian) of Sadeli mosaic  displayed a total understanding of the qualities of the different materials they used. They combined substances, which can expand and contract according to atmospheric conditions with others, which are hard and unyielding. The result was a sharp definition of the lines and patterns, which made up the whole design.

 

  Beneath the tray the box is lined with blue velvet.

There is a further compartment in the lid behind the mirror which is lined with dark blue velvet.

A

 View of the bottom. There is a small label which as yet I have failed to decipher.