This artist’s paint box, made by Reeves, Sons & Ltd, contains watercolour cake blocks in in a range of colours, along with a part-used ink cake, a ruler, a measuring compass, a ruling pen, and several dipping pens, some made from porcupine quills. The box has two trays: the upper tray holds twenty-four paint blocks, while the lower tray has twelve more compartments and a longer space for pens.

Each watercolour block is moulded with the inscription “Council of India” on one side, and on the other, the colour name and the maker’s mark, “Reeves, Sons & Ltd.” The Council of India was a London-based advisory body to the British Secretary of State for India. It operated from 1858 to 1935, overseeing aspects of British administration in India.

By the late 19th century, Reeves, Sons & Ltd supplied materials not only to artists but also to many British government departments, including the War Office and the Indian and Colonial governments.