Workbox made of buffalo horn and ivory, engraved and pierced. A rectangular box with a hinged lid, lined with wood and covered with very dark buffalo horn, overlaid with pierced decorative panels made of elephant ivory.
At the centre of the lid is a plaque of ivory, showing an engraving of a woman sitting on a platform in front of a cushion. This plaque is at the centre of a rectangular panel of decorative ivory pierced into an intricate foliate pattern, with occasional smooth circular domes of ivory; and it is surrounded by a border of a strip of ivory engraved with a floral design. This is in turn surrounded by a narrower panel of pierced ivory of the same foliate pattern, with six smaller plaques engraved with flowers; and there is a final border at the edge of the lid, consisting of strips of ivory engraved with a pattern of twisted lines. This final border is overlapped by a series of right-angled ivory brackets with small domed decorations, which are at regular intervals around the edge of the lid.
There are panels of pierced ivory with the same foliate pattern, with six smaller panels engraved with flowers, around the sides of the box. The trip of edging around the base of the box is made of bone. The box is supported by four small feet, also made of bone, which have been carved to look like paws.
There is a small metal keyhole at the front of the box, and two metal hinges at the back.
Label: Handwritten label with object, reading 'WORKBOX MADE OF / BUFFALO HORN AND / IVORY :: ENGRAVED & / PIERCED :: / VIZAGAPATAM. INDIA'.
