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Antique Anglo-Indian Boxes
Collectible Culture from the British Raj'
Nettur Almost implicit in the term ‘anglo-indian’ is the notion that boxes made during the British colonial period in India would be to British taste and intended for the British market. Oddly, the next type of box predates the British Raj and also outlived it without suffering substantial change. These highly distinctive boxes were/are unashamedly Indian and aimed at the Persian and Arabian markets directly across the Arabian Sea from the Malabar Coast. They have nothing to do with the ‘dowry boxes’ of Rajastan although they are frequently described as such in the western antiques trade. The state currently known as Kerala has long cultural tradition. The Portuguese arrived in the 15thC, were replaced by the Dutch in the 17thC and in the 19thC the British absorbed the Malabar Coast into the Madras Prisidency but throughout these political changes the people, speaking their own language of Malayalam, and remained, like the Scots and Jews, a matriarchal race in which woman commanded wealth and respect. The small village of Nettur situated on the Malabar coast in the state of Kerala has the distinction of having devised a very distinct and unusual box used by the women, temples and noble families for storing jewels and other precious items. It is believed that the boxes were also exported to Persia and Arabia. These handmade boxes were traditionally made of rosewood and the majority continue to be made this way too. However, jackfruit wood, mahogany and teak wood can also be used today. Brass is used for the embellishments that decorate the exterior of the boxes. Everything including the locks, handles, nails and hinges for these boxes are made by hand. In the local language, a box is called ‘petti’ so these distinctive boxes are generally know as nettur petti. The shape of the distinctive lids of these boxes is inspired by the roofs of houses typical of that area of India.
