On the top are four male figures in Islamic attire riding two elephants interspersed with flowering trees, flanked by two figures holding falcons and two more sets of Islamic figures, two male and two female. In the center two more Portuguese figures seated around a flowering tree. The interior is fitted with eight drawers (one of them simulating two) set in four tiers with a large square drawer at the centre. While the inlay decoration on the front of the smaller drawers consists of flowering plants with symmetrically placed quails, the front of the larger central drawer consists of two figures in Islamic attire. The present writing box is modelled after a European prototype known in German as schreibtisch or “writing desk”, where the most coveted and expensive ones were produced. The hinged front drops down to form a surface for writing. Prevalent in the interior furnishings of European noble and patrician households, portable fall front boxes of this type were a basic requirement of European officials, merchants and traders living and travelling in Asia.