A late 19^th / early 20^th century Anglo – Indian unmarked silver filigree box, Cuttack circa 1900

Raj period. of rectangular form with a hinged lid, fine decoration of scrolls and foliate forms throughout within strapwork borders, solid sheet base.

Length – 19.6 cm / 7.75 inches

Weight – 645 grams / 20.74 ozt

“[…] a long catalogue of silver fancy articles and ornaments of filigree work which are usually kept for sale in the Cuttack market. Some of these are vessels used at religious festivals and on ceremonial occasions, such as the rose-water vases or sprinklers brought into use at weddings, nautch parties and other festivals, and the attardans and silver platters for betel-leaf which are handed round at darbars; in addition to these, there are various articles of a more modern character, such as cigar-cases, card-cases, picture-frames, buttons and studs, figures of animals, flower-vases etc. […] The finest articles are produced in the Orissa Art Wares factory, the proprietor of which, Mr M. S. Das C.I.E had brought the improved methods of modern mechanism to the assistance of the hereditary training and skill of the native artist. In purity of design and delicacy of finish the articles turned out in this factory surpass the gold and silver work in every other part of the Province, and the graceful skill with which the spider-web of wire is manipulated has made Cuttack justly famous for this kind of work.” L. S. S. O’Malley, Bengal District Gazetteers - Cuttack (1906).