Wooden Kumkum Box - 4-Inch Hand-Painted Tikka Box, 3 Colours

Why this one

It is the least expensive thing we make that still looks handmade, which is the whole reason it works as a return gift. The paint is applied freehand over turned mango wood - gold line work over a coloured ground on the green and red, cream floral over dark wood on the antique. Nothing about it is printed or transferred. Mango wood is the standard timber for painted Rajasthani woodwork: dense enough to carve and hold a hinge, and cut from trees at the end of their fruiting life rather than felled for timber, which is why it is the sustainable choice in Indian craft.

Which finish

• Green - deep green ground with gold trim and line work
• Red - the traditional colour for a kumkum box, gold trim
• Antique - dark natural wood with cream floral painting, the quietest of the three

Red is the one people buy for their own pooja shelf. Green and antique are the ones that get bought in bulk for functions, because they read less specifically religious and work as a trinket or ring box for a guest who does not use kumkum.

Where it works

On the pooja shelf or inside the mandir, in a thali for aarti, on a dressing table for rings and studs, or on a desk for paper clips. At four inches it takes up almost no room, which is why people end up with several.

Gifting

This is the return gift. Weddings, griha pravesh, Diwali, Karva Chauth, Varalakshmi Vratam, baby showers - it is small enough to hand to every guest, inexpensive enough to buy fifty of, and traditional enough that nobody has to explain it. Many customers fill them with kumkum, haldi or sweets before giving them.

Care

Wipe with a soft dry cloth. Keep water and cleaning sprays off the painted surface, and do not soak it. Painted mango wood does not like standing damp or direct all-day sun.