This intricately inlaid Anglo-Indian box features a Sadeli Islamic Moorish geometric and star design, crafted in a rectangular shape with bone inlays and marquetry. It is a very fine work of art, similar to the collector's pieces displayed at the Doris Duke Museum of Islamic Art.
Khatem art is one of the important handicrafts. Khatem, which is the art of decorating the surface of wooden objects in a mosaic-like style with equilateral or isosceles wood and metal small triangles, has been practiced and is still being practiced for at least four hundred years.
The beauty and richness of the box come from the repetitive geometric patterns of the Sadeli Mosaic, a highly specialized micro mosaic craft. This decorative technique, involving the repetition of geometric motifs, has a long history in India and the Middle East, with examples dating back to the 13th century.
In the 19th century, this technique became popular for decorating various items such as boxes, card cases, and chess boards imported from India. As Bombay (now Mumbai) became a manufacturing hub for these items, they were commonly known as Bombay boxes. The ancient art of Sadeli mosaic is believed to have been introduced from Shiraz in Persia, through Sindh, to Bombay, long before Indian boxes became popular.
The designs of these early boxes may appear deceptively simple, but they originate from a culture that mastered geometry and pattern generation. The motifs are harmoniously combined, with an incredible complexity that is not immediately evident to the viewer.
