Indian Wood Tikka Box

Dark lidded jar with a plain round knob and a lid that overhangs politely.

This carved and painted tikka box is from Maharashtra, India, and dates to the late 19th or early 20th century. It is carved wood & pigment. Wood carving has a long history in western India, and craftsmen there decorate small boxes with geometric patterns, flowers and figures, sometimes adding colour with pigment. Squat dome lid with a small rounded knob sits over a tapering cylindrical body. The finish is deep black-brown and glossy, with thin red edges showing at the rim and base. A faint line circles the lower body. It is 4 inches high and 3 in diameter.

Quiet, dark and formally lidded, with a hint of red.