box (containers)

Wooden box inset with porcupine quills and ivory. The main structure of the box is of dark hardwood. Narrow bands of dark hardwood divide up the surface of the lid and sides, in between which quills are laid, the quills arranged so that the natural colours of the quills form a geometrical pattern. The surfaces of the wooden bands are inset with small ivory discs. The lid is hinged, and has an iron lock, the key for which is missing. The underside of the box consists of plain wood. Inside the box to one side is a wooden compartment. Three small sections appear to have once fitted into the compartment, but the struts dividing up the compartments are missing. There are three covers for these sections, made of dark wood, and as with the outer surface of the box, these are inlaid with small ivory discs. There is a small metal ring handle on each of the covers. The inside of the lid has a central panel, made of dark wood with a design created by small ivory discs. The panel is surrounded by fabric, possibly felt.

Collection Information

These objects are only a part of our collections, of which there are more than 350,000 objects. This information comes from our collections database. Some of this is incomplete and there may be errors. This part of the website is also still under construction, so there may be some fields repeated or incorrectly formatted information.

The database sometimes uses language taken from historical documents to help research, which may now appear outdated and even offensive. The database also includes information on objects that are considered secret or sacred by some communities.

If you have any further information about objects in our collections or can suggest corrections to our information, please contact us: enquiry@horniman.ac.uk