of oval form with scalloped sides on four silver ball feet, the hinged lid supported by silver chains, hinged handle, mounted in repoussé silver with a series of alternating columns and floral sprays issuing from urns to the sides, the top with a central panel of floral interlace surrounded by four double-headed eagles, the borders with foliate bands, the interior with further panels of floral interlace, one with a lion and unicorn, the mounts fixed with silver pins and quatrefoil nuts, lock and key to front
22.5 x 16.5 x 9.3 cm.

Footnotes

Provenance
Private Portuguese collection.

The double-headed eagle, as well as being a much used emblem in European heraldry, is also encountered in Hindu mythology as Gandaberunda, a form displayed by Narasimha, the man-lion incarnation of Vishnu. It was an emblem adopted by the Wadiyar dynasty in the kingdom of Mysore. The lion and the unicorn became part of the British coat of arms on the accession of James I in 1603, when the kingdoms of England (the lion) and Scotland (the unicorn) were united under one ruler.

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- Islamic and Indian Art
- Modern & Contemporary South Asian Art

A repoussé silver mounted tortoiseshell casket for the European market India, 17th/ 18th Century

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Matthew Thomas