These boxes are known as bazuband (armband) because they were tied to the arm using string. Used as amulet cases, they may well have also been employed to store miniature Qur’ans, or select verses of the revelation considered to hold special protective powers.
The talismanic nature of these objects is confirmed by the verses used in the inscriptions decorating them. The basmala (an Islamic formula that reads ‘in the name of God, the Merciful and the Compassionate’) appears at the centre of the cover of this box. Northern India, Afghanistan, Persia. 5cms across x 1.5cms