Antique Anglo Indian Box Handcrafted Porcupine Quills Jewellery Box

Antique Anglo-Indian quill box handcrafted and decorated with porcupine quills and bone dots. Made in Ceylon which was the colonial name for Sri Lanka.

The lovely Porcupine Quill antique jewellery/trinket box in very good condition. This piece is missing a couple of the tiny polished bone discs and has a slight lift to the top plank of wood on one section but is in good condition for age. The top slides open very easily and is an absolute joy to open and close.

Anglo Indian Srilankan Porcupine quill boxes are highly prized and very collectible. Porcupine quill boxes were finely inlaid with polished bone dots and porcupine quills between bands of ebony. They were highly valued for their rich timbers and intricate craftsmanship. The production of porcupine quill boxes and furniture falls between around 1850 and 1900. There are several documented examples that give the outline for these dates. In particular there is one in the V&A museum which was given to Queen Victoria c. 1850 (1).

Production of Ceylonese ebony and porcupine quill boxes was focused in three areas of southern Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) Galle, Matara and Matura—all important trading posts, benefiting from the thriving export trade. The style of the boxes was very much aimed at the demand of the European market, boxes imitated traditional English forms such as jewellery boxes, sewing baskets and writing boxes. Although porcupine quill boxes were originally made for English residents, by the late 19th century, there was a thriving commercial export trade. Porcupine quill boxes on the market vary in quality enormously. As a general rule, the more work that has gone into the box, the finer and rarer it is. The number of tiny bone dots and their close proximity together are a good indication of a valuable box.

Measures 17cm length x 9cm width x 4.5cm height.

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