This ornate travelling desk is likely from the erstwhile Bombay Presidency, which encompassed present-day Gujarat and is on the west coast of India. Boxes such as these were referred to by the blanket term “Bombay Boxes”, and employed various decorative techniques such as sadeli which was a type of micromosaic using many types of wood, ivory and metal for surface decoration, and is used here to decorate the edges of the desk. This desk is ornately carved with a foliate pattern on the front, with a central pietra dura inlay. The sides of the box exhibit more foliate patterns with mythological figures represented in the centre. Lids of the surface compartments open up to reveal European-style miniature paintings set into the underside.
