Used for stashing gold, silver, precious stones, and important papers. Rosewood, teak, brass and iron. Handmade. 17th, 18th, 19th century, South India.

Early History
Legend has it that great fortunes were made along the Malabar coast by traders who supplied rare hardwoods, ivory, gold, peacocks, and spices to Egyptian and Solomonic dynasties. Greek ships of the classic era plied the extensive intercoastal waterways of Kerela on their odysseys to Ceylon. Rome sent emissaries to the royal courts of India to negotiate favored trade. During the Diaspora, Jews established communities in Cochin where they soon controlled the spice trade under the protection of the Maharaja. Saint Thomas, began a successful Christian mission in 52 C.E. that was furthered by the Syrian Orthodox Church. By 1000 C.E., great Vedic civilizations were building their fabled temple cities in the interior. Meanwhile, Muslim sailors monopolized the shipping routes around the Arabian Sea for several hundred years. Chinese fishing fleets had cast their cantilevered nets for some time before Marco Polo arrived as an ambassador from the court of Kublai Khan.

Colonial History
The colonial era began with the arrival of explorer, Vasco da Gama, in 1498. The Portuguese dominated the commercial cultivation of pepper and coconut palm until the 17th century. Successive waves of Dutch and English developed enormously profitable ventures in raw materials, textiles, spices and crafts. Fine artisans were employed to make furniture from native teak and rosewood. Fashioned in various transportable sizes and clever designs, cache boxes were used to keep gold, silver, precious stones and important papers.

Modern Discovery
Among the distinctive artifacts of that prosperous time, caches are particularly collectable. After being stashed for 100 to 300 years, we discovered these handsome little treasure chests in the tropical backwaters of Kerela. They have been painstakingly cleaned and polished with beeswax. Now you can continue that long and illustrious heritage by keeping your own valuables in these handsome little treasure chests.
Copyright Inspired Planet

Various sizes-
med. small L. 13" W. 9" H. 4.5"
med. large L.15" W. 10" H. 7"
Each one similar, but distinct