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Good day
I have bought this box yesterday. It is a hard paper box covered in silk and satin fabric. Think it is a pincushion of some sorts. It fits into a frame made out of silver. It looks like it could be Persian but I could not find any hallmarks except some writing scratched at two places on the rim. It is not plated. Any idea where it may be from and how old it could be? The widest part of silver is 8cm and it is 3.3cm high. It weighs about 90 grams. Will it be worth restoring the box? The hinges tore out and the bottom and top fabric are worn out. Rest of the fabric are dirtied by polish but i think it can be washed out.
Thank you
Jannie

Hi,
They look like Hindi (Devanagari) numerals to me.
It`s pin cushion-box for sure.
Hinges can be easily fixed, the box being made of cardboard. Just take a look how the hinges were fixed to the box where they still hold.
It must be very old. It takes many decades for fabric to ruffle like this. (For example, hankies from the Great War sometimes look like this).
I would nor repair it (except for the hinges) and possibly the fabric at the base if you can find a piece of old fabric in matching color, carefully cut it to desired shape and glue it with water soluble glue. Over-restoring would ruin its antique look.
In short, maker cannot be identified but hopefully the numerals will be recognized and confirmed.
Regards

Thank you for the reply. Hindi you think...will go look it up. I think i will just try clean off the Silver polish and try and get a peace for the bottom. The inside of the box are still looking great.
Jannie

You are right!!! I went and look online for Devanagari silver and the patterns resemble the ones on the box.

Thank you for helping me in the right direction
Jannie

So here is what I think it may be...
Kashmir, India, from around 1890's and most likely made of sterling silver. The box are made of cardboard and covered with velvet on outside and silk inside.

Jannie

JanGroen wrote:So here is what I think it may be...
Kashmir, India, from around 1890's and most likely made of sterling silver. The box are made of cardboard and covered with velvet on outside and silk inside.

Jannie

Did some more digging and found the style are more Bhuj, Kutch, India than from the Kashmir area.

Groete
Jannie

I would agree that this is in the Kashmiri regional style rather than Kutch and that it is a late 19th century pin cushion