Indo-Portuguese, 16-17th Century
Dimensions: 8.5 cm
Indo-Portuguese colonial snuff box from the 16th-17th century. The body of the box is a panther cowry with a precisely fitted wrought iron lid on top. The lid is densely patterned with organic motifs – vines, spirals – where one part is upturned and the other part can be opened. On the inside there is Portuguese writing, engraved around the 18th century.
