Indian Rectangular Box with Portraits & Bird Motifs

Tiny portraits and black birds travel the length of a slender painted box.

This rectangular painted camel bone box with portraits and bird motifs is from India, and dates to the 20th century. Camel bone has been used in Rajasthan and neighbouring regions as a lower-cost alternative to ivory, cut into plaques and then inlaid or painted. Long and narrow with a creamy ground, the case has round medallions of tiny painted figures in bright color. Dark birds and floral motifs fill the sides, and a small knobbed pull slides out at one end. It is 10 inches wide, 2.25 deep and 2.25 high.

Tiny faces, tiny birds, and a lot of painting per inch.