Large Betel Nut Box

Silver and Cast Bronze Betel Nut Container

This large and impressive early 20th-century silver inlaid container, raised on American coins, is a betel nut box from the Mindanao region in the southern Philippines. The scale is unusually large, measuring 9 inches long x 5.25 inches high x 4.75 inches wide. The box is made entirely of cast bronze and pure silver in the traditional Muslim "okir" scroll pattern, a distinct motif often found on Maranao woodcarvings. The interior section is removable -- divided into three compartments enclosed beneath four silver inlaid and hinged doors. Original beaded strap.

Betel nut is a mild stimulant that is chewed throughout the Asian continent. The almost ceremonial and habitual chewing of the betel nut usually involves four ingredients: areca nut (bunga), fresh pepper leaves (buyo), powder lime (apug), and damp tobacco leaves. The white residue on the interior edges of each box is slaked lime (Calcium Hydroxide) which releases the alkaloid in the Betel Nut.

** Other betel nut boxes shown for scale.

Dimensions: 9 inches long x 5.25 inches high x 4.75 inches wide.

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