An Unusual Finely Carved Wood Double Headed Snuff Box from Sri Lanka
An Unusual Finely Carved Wood Double Headed Snuff Box from Sri Lanka , with ivory teeth and horn eyes depicting a stylised tiger’s head and parrot’s head
19 th Century
Size : 9 cm high , 9 cm wide – 3½ ins high , 3½ ins wide
19 th Century
Size : 9 cm high , 9 cm wide – 3½ ins high , 3½ ins wide
In the 17 th century the Dutch settlements on the Coromandel Coast and in colonial Ceylon each had a craftsmen's quarter or 'Ambachtskwertier' where European and local cabinet makers worked together under the direction of Dutch foremen .
The indigenous craftsmen's exposure to western goods grew with the expansion of the Portuguese , Dutch and English presence in Ceylon . By the 19 th century the convergence of a diverse range of objects and the decorative traditions and techniques of the European colonialists had created an atmosphere that was conducive to both artistic and technical exchange , as evidenced in this unusual double headed snuff box .
The indigenous craftsmen's exposure to western goods grew with the expansion of the Portuguese , Dutch and English presence in Ceylon . By the 19 th century the convergence of a diverse range of objects and the decorative traditions and techniques of the European colonialists had created an atmosphere that was conducive to both artistic and technical exchange , as evidenced in this unusual double headed snuff box .
An Unusual Finely Carved Wood Double Headed Snuff Box from Sri Lanka
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