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Tripartite silver box, 19th century
India
Silver; H. 2 1/4 in. (5.7 cm), L. 3 3/8 in. (8.6 cm), W. 3 1/2 in. (8.9 cm)
John Stewart Kennedy Fund, 1915 (15.95.12)

This whimsical box was designed for making pan, the Indian digestif, and is composed of several small compartments that would each hold one ingredient. The surface of the box is delicately filigreed with quatrefoil flowers, the petals of which are filled with ivy leaf and lotus bud motifs. The knob handle appears as a carved nut sprouting from a chrysanthemum disk.


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    Tripartite silver box, 19th century
    India
    Silver; H. 2 1/4 in. (5.7 cm), L. 3 3/8 in. (8.6 cm), W. 3 1/2 in. (8.9 cm)
    John Stewart Kennedy Fund, 1915 (15.95.12)