DescriptionPossibly inspired by Chinese ceramics, this charming, chubby duck resting his head on his back is a "pan-dan," or box, used to hold pan-rolled betel leaf stuffed with betel nut, lime paste, and spices. The native Hindu custom of eating betel leaves (to aid digestion and freshen the breath) was introduced at the Mughal court in the seventeenth century by palace ladies, probably Hindu wives of the Mughal rulers.

It is rare to find objects executed in the bidri technique in a shape other than that of metalwork. Bidri ware is named for the city of Bidar in the Deccan (about seventy-five miles northwest of Hyderabad in Delhi), the chief center of its production from the seventeenth to nineteenth century. Four artisans collaborated to make this box: a molder who created the shape using the lost-wax technique; an etcher who drew the designs on the surface; an engraver who chiseled out the areas around the designs; and an inlayer who applied the silver and brass. The surface was then blackened to enhance the beauty of the inlay, used here to define the duck's various feathers. The origins of this elaborate process remain unclear; however, long-standing oral traditions suggest that it was imported from Iran.