Indian Wood Tikka Box

Flat-brimmed lid, neat knob and a body as straight as a thermos.

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. A tikka is the mark worn on the forehead in Hindu practice, and it is applied in powder or paste made from materials such as vermilion, turmeric or sandalwood. Cylindrical lidded jar with a flat-topped, gently domed lid and a small pointed knob. The surface is a mottled reddish-brown with dark streaks, and a faint line circles the lower body. The lid brim overhangs the neck slightly. It is 4 inches high and 2.5 in diameter.

Straight sides, firm lid, nothing to prove.