A PAINTED AND LACQUERED 'MALABAR' JEWELLERY BOX (NETTOOR PETTI)
Kochi, Kerala, South-Western India, 19th century

Of typical rectangular shape, surmounted by a hinged pyramidal lid with sloping sides, the exterior painted, lacquered, and mounted with several decorative brass fittings and studs designed as fleshy vegetal trellis and flowers, the painted decoration consisting of several decorative bands of geometric motifs, fretwork, scrollwork, and cross-hatches, the interior with a rectangular lidded section with brass hinge, the lid repeating the same patterns of the exterior, 19.2cm x 29.5cm x 22.5cm.

Nettoor pettis, also known as Malabar boxes, are one of the most recognisable and prominent examples of Keralan craftsmanship. Named after Nettoor, the village in Kerala where the craft is believed to have originated, and usually made in either teak, rosewood or jackwood with eccentric brass fittings, these boxes were commonly used as jewellery and dowry chests by the women of most affluent and richest families. Their design, resembling a thatched house, is not a coincidence: it is a visual metaphor for the new house where the bride will live with her husband. It has been suggested some of these pettis (boxes) were employed in temples as well as to store precious and bejewelled ornaments of the local idol (murti).