Antique Indo-Portuguese Brass Betel Box, Goa, 19th Century, Compartmented Casket

  
Antique Indo-Portuguese betel box in solid brass, probably made in Goa (Portuguese India) in the second half of the 19th century. These boxes were used to prepare and store betel-chewing ingredients (betel leaves, areca nuts and slaked lime) and are found among Indo-Portuguese wares from Goa and, more rarely, Ceylon (Sri Lanka).

Thick solid brass with an aged patina. Hinged lid that opens flat. Compartmentalised interior with removable trays.

Internal lids/plates fitted with decorative rings featuring stylised floral/trefoil motifs. A small hinged glass panel is present in the upper section, intended to accommodate a mirror. The glass panel and frame remain, but the mirror itself is missing. Date: approximately the second half of the 19th century.

Possible alternative attribution: Sri Lanka (Ceylon). Wear, rubbing, marks and surface oxidation consistent with age.