A CARVED AND PIERCED SANDALWOOD LIDDED BOX WITH KALINGA NARDHANA
Mysore, Karnataka, Southern India, 19th century

Of rectangular shape, surmounted by a detachable domed lid with hemispherical profile, the openwork top and sides intricately carved with a profusion of vegetal and animal motifs, the lid featuring a central lobed and flower-collared roundel with Krishna dancing on the Snake Demon Kaliya (Kalinga Nardhana), flanked by two griffins, set against scrolling vegetal trellis, the two longer side panels repeating the same composition of the lid with roundels in-filled with auspicious animals like a Hamsa duck and a spotted deer, a peacock and an elephant carved on the shorter side panels, 8cm x 22cm x 9cm.