Indian, Gujarat
Casket, about 1600
Wood coated with colored resin and inlaid with mother-of-pearl , 19.5 x 20 x 19.5 cm (7 11/16 x 7 7/8 x 7 11/16 in.)
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Gothic Room
Commentary
This casket is made of wood covered with colored resin and inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Although it was acquired in 1899 by Isabella Stewart Gardner as a Venetian work of the 17th or 18th century, it is actually Indian and at least a century older. Its form, materials, and decorations are closely related to caskets from the Indian state of Gujarat, which is on the western coast of India and a range of objects decorated with mother-of-pearl during the 16th and 17th centuries. At this time, Gujarati mother-of-pearl objects were produced both for local consumption, as well as for export to the Middle East and Europe. The precise origin of this type of rectangular casket with a beveled lid remains unclear. However, it may have its roots in Chinese decorative arts from as early as the 10th century. The form was then adopted in different regions throughout Asia. Gujarati caskets can be distinguished from earlier Chinese, Korean, and Timurid caskets by the plinth with bracket feet, which one can see in this casket.