- Title
- Betel Box
- Date Made
- circa 1650-1675
- Medium
- Dark green nephrite jade, with band of copper, gold, and silver alloy
- Dimensions
- 2 7/8 x 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 in. (7.3 x 10.8 x 13.97 cm)
- Accession Number
- M.76.2.3a-b
- Collecting Area
- South and Southeast Asian Art
- Curatorial Notes
The exterior form and decoration of this two-sided and hinged dark green jade box is a visual pun. When closed, its three-dimensional shape is at first glance reminiscent of a mango and its lyrical tendrils and tender buds accentuating its graceful contours are akin to flowering mango tendrils. Closer inspection, however, reveals that the tendrils are actually stylized lotuses that emanate out of a central chrysanthemum blossom. The lotuses provide an enhanced tactile awareness when the vessel is held, and the hybridity of the design epitomizes Mughal aesthetic sensibilities. When the box is open, its hollowed-out interior transforms the seemingly solid object into an astonishingly light and delicate work of art with each side fashioned in the heart-shape of a betel leaf. This interior shape is the key to interpreting the box’s probable cultural function, as it accords precisely with the shape of the betel leaves it was made to contain. Whether subtle or overt, such correspondences between form and function in Mughal decorative art are among its most inspired stylistic hallmarks.
The betel leaves (Piper betle) that were once stored in this container were used in preparing pan—a ceremonial amenity and digestif made of cut betel nut, mineral lime powder or paste, assorted spices, and sometimes tobacco or gold leaf; all wrapped in a betel leaf, with the three-cornered prepared product known as a pan quid. Ornate serving boxes made in several primary shapes from a variety of precious materials, generally called a pan dan, were used to offer quids to honored guests in northern India from at least the 16th century onward. By the late 19th century, elaborate betel sets had evolved with multiple compartments for holding the various ingredients and the implements used to prepare the betel quids.
- Selected Bibliography
- Verma, Som Prakash, ed. Flora and Fauna in Mughal Art. Mumbai, India: Marg Publications, 1999.