April’s Item of the Month is a rare, large and finely carved sandalwood table casket, made in Mysore, South India, circa 1860.
An almost identical, albeit smaller casket, described as a ‘jewel box’ is in the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, (accession number 9672:1 to 9/(IS)), and was noted as acquired by the India Museum before 1879.
A very similar casket (accession number 17-1852), also in the Victorian & Albert collection, was purchased by the East India Company and exhibited at the Great Exhibition, London in 1851.
According to the V&A, ‘Articles of this type were manufactured by craftsmen of the Gudigar caste. The term gudigar is thought to derive from the Sanskrit for either carver (kuttka) or temple (gudi), and was likely to have been inspired by the caste’s hereditary role as temple painters and carvers working in wood, ivory and stone.’