Rare Mogul ivory box - Lot 256

Rare Mogul ivory box Ivory North India or Deccan, 17th century 8.5 x 7.9 x 7.4 cm - Weight: 303.2g Provenance : - Former Nicolas Landau collection, former Jean Soustiel collection - François de Ricqlès sale, Jean Soustiel Collection, 06/12/1999, p. 88, lot n°334. This box, made entirely of carved ivory, is decorated on each side with Mughal bouquets and figures carved in poly-lobed arcatures, all framed by friezes of foliage and florets. These floral registers are repeated on the lid, between friezes of pointed circles. It stands on four small feet carved with petal friezes. A hidden, refined detail: the four feet take the form of fleurons underneath. A further decorative element is hidden inside the lid, in the form of a raised quadrifolate fleuron. The box has two internal compartments, and holes can be seen on two sides where the old fasteners used to be. Glued to the underside of the base, an old label reads "N. Landau" and number 51. Indian carved ivory pieces from this period are rare. Indeed, few known examples dating from the 17th century remain intact like this box. Most other known boxes are qalamdans, rectangular pen trays. Another rectangular box with similar decoration is in the Museum für Asiatische Kunst in Berlin (inv. n°I 1518). A box that has lost its lid is published in: Tardy (1977), Les Ivoires, Volume II, Paris: Tardy, p. 155, no. 3. A fragment of another box is preserved in the Louvre (inv. n°MAO 2231). CITES certificate issued on 17/11/2023