The State Hermitage Museum: Exhibitions

Casket

Middle of the 17th century

India, Goa (?) or Chinese jewellers in South-East Asia (?)

Silver, filigree

Length 17 cm, width 10 cm, height 13 cm

Acquired in 1789 from the Winter Palace main collection

The casket on four feet is decorated with four columns on the corners and has an arched curved hinged lid. The facade side has a key on a chain, a key hole and a lock. Tradition has it that such caskets were used to keep church keys or treasures. The casket is made of openwork filigree with spiral scrolls, eight-petal flowers and twisted thin "commas".

The shape of the casket is characteristic of the objects made in Goa, but the flower designs and typical waves near the feet show the influence of Chinese art. We can suggest that the jewellers were Chinese, who either worked in Macao fulfilling the Portuguese-Indian order or settled in Cochin or Calicut on the Malabar Coast. It could have been made also in the Dutch Batavia where Chinese and Indian craftsmen settled.