Indian Wood Tikka Box

Warm red-brown and slightly misaligned, this lid sits at a jaunty angle.

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. Small jar with a rounded lid topped by a tall tan knob and a flaring tapered body. The finish is warm reddish-brown with a crazed, alligator-skin pattern on the lower body. The lid has a visible seam and small chips. It is 4 inches high and 2.5 in diameter.

Slightly askew, thoroughly charming, and quite unbothered.