This decanter case holds six glass bottles and features engraved silver mounts. The interior is lined with blue velvet and is divided into six compartments for each of the bottles. It may have been commissioned by a representative of the Dutch East India Company (VOC) in Batavia – such cases are known to have been commissioned by VOC officials and presented as gifts to Asian elites to facilitate trade. They were also purchased by VOC ship captains because of their portable nature. While the case was probably made in Batavia by local craftsmen, the bottles are of a type produced in Gujarat. Used to store spice oils, perfumes, or medicines, they are decorated in gilt with floral patterns on the sides and shoulders, and three have engraved silver gilt mounts. The Dutch East Indies Company probably ordered such bottles from India – the VOC established a trading factory in Gujarat in the 18th century and had a significant influence in the region in the 17th and 18th centuries, when bottles of this type were being produced. Similar bottles were also sometimes produced in Europe and painted in India. The bottles and case are finely crafted and would have been costly to produce.
