Indian Carved Book Cover

[capone1066]

Hi, after a recent clear-out I found the following item at the bottom of a box of old cutlery.
I believe it to be an Indian, ebony carved book cover with bone inlay from the 19th century.

Would anyone here have any idea as to what its value may be?







Any help greatly appreciated.

[mart]

Somehow the pattern doesn`t strike me as typically Indian,,,but not my area either !! Its nice whatever it is !!

[Ipcress]

Can i see the other side ? It's looks wonderful

[capone1066]

Here is the other side as requested...

The 4 screws holding the cover on appear to be missing although the hinges and mounting points are working and intact.



Would have been great to see this complete with whatever contents inside.

[greenacres]

Is that all inlay? It reminds of boxes they sell in Morocco.

[capone1066]

All inlaid, could really do with a clean.

[greenacres]

Careful about that because it could loosen some of the pieces.

[Ipcress]

Can i have a close up of the spine interior ?

I'm thinking not books, but parchments, drawing paper.

[capone1066]

Hi Ipcress, below are some close-ups of the interior spine:

[KC]

The detail/clarity of the insides of the book cover are so clear.  Just can't tell much from the outer cover pics.  I would have to say if it was me I would need a hands on on this one.

Looks really nice!!!  Doesn't look Indian to me!

[mart]

Somehow the pattern doesn`t strike me as typically Indian,,,but not my area either !! Its nice whatever it is !!

We seem to be on the same page KC !!  If you have time go and look at the Chinese tapestry Icedgold is asking about !!  I think it says "How to date" on the title !!  More your area than mine !!

[sapphire]

Could we see a straight on shot of just the center panel of the cover? Appears to be some sort of 'temple' or buildings.....might help in narrowing down the culture.

[Ipcress]

I personally think this might be Indian. Not a book cover as we know it, but for something that's tipped in, not bound. Parchment, a few leaves of drawing paper. There's little room for a tomb of any description

My auction estimate would be a classic £80-120, with the likelihood of it fetching top end +

[capone1066]

Hi sapphire...
 

Click Here for Larger Image


Click Here for Larger Image

[KC]

When "books" were originally made, they were not bound.  They didn't even have covers.  Then, covers came about that were paper, then became more and more elaborate (a very influential thing  to have books AND covers.)  Do believe that this was a later piece due to the construction.

That is why so many books have been thrown away over the years. People find a box with unbound pages in it and think it was a book that fell apart or just useless papers.  If only people were more knowledgeable on this!  (My mom was a reading specialist so I was exposed to this history and thinking...)