Vintage Brass Pandan Box with Flag Motif

Dimensions: 17cm wide, 11cm deep, 8cm high.
Code: METAL 0321

This multi-layered pandan box is at least sixty years and is most likely from Maharashtra or Gujarat. The history of chewing paan dates back about 2,500 years and is still, today, a popular digestive in India, some also believe it to be an aphrodisiac. Paan’s beautifully crafted accessories elevate it to a level of ceremony in India, much like the Japanese and tea. The word pandan was coined during the Sultanate and Mughal period joining the Hindi word paan to the Persian suffix dan. Boxes like were kept in every home and were used to store the ingredients to make paan, which in its basic form consists of slices of betel nut mixed with lime paste wrapped in betel leaf. The different compartments in the box would contain these ingredients, as well as coconut, saffron, fragrant spices or rose preserves for more special paan. The first layer has a round container with lid to store the paste, the next layer has five compartments to keep the spices and the bottom flat layer is where the betel leaves would be kept. The brass box has a handle on the top with an embossed emblem of crossed flags under the handle. If paan is not on your menu this lovely box could be used to store jewellery or keepsakes.