A CARVED EBONY WOOD SCRIBE PEN CASE
Kolkata (Calcutta), Eastern India, late 18th - 19th century

Of rectangular shape, on a flat unworked base, the sides carved with interlocking scrolling vegetal and rosette tendrils framed within zig-zag fretwork bands, the top hollow in the centre with a roll-over lid and carved with lobed arches on each short side, one segment of the lid sliding to the side to reveal a smaller hidden compartment, the interior plain, 6cm x 30cm x 9cm.