Paan-shaped box

In the form of a heart-shaped Piper betle (betel pepper) leaf, this lovely box is for holding paan (Piper leaves and Areca catechu nuts, the principal ingredients for betel nut chewing). The knob, formed from the same piece of material, is inlaid with an eight-petal flower with a diamond heart. Twelve green stones encircle the knob, and radiating from them are leaf scrolls bearing many flowers. A scrolling vine with green leaves and red flowers embellishes the sides of the box, while lines of gold decorate the borders.

The stones are set in the kundan technique in which colored foils are placed beneath crystals. The leaf scrolls are worked in intaglio on the jade material, and then inlaid with gold.