Featured Unusual Silver (?) Asian Trinket Box

I've just acquired an Asian trinket box and would be grateful to learn more about it. It measures c. 5 x 4cm and shows some age. Although It doesn't appear to be of any special quality, I don't think that it's tourist tat either.
On the lid, there is a central motif of a sacred Hindu cow, flanked by two medallions of masks/faces/deities(?). There are also two ring-type mounts (?) which perhaps previously held decorative stones.

I'm not expecting miracles for my ten Euro outlay, but would nevertheless be very grateful if anyone might be able to suggest :

(i) The probable country or region of origin
(ii) The approximate age of the box
and
(iii) Is the metal likely to be silver, rather than plated ?

Many thanks indeed for any help !!

 

Interesting, the mask heads look most like Balinese types to me (Indonesia). Looks like it has some age, quite possibly early 20th century but these items are difficult to date. All across SE Asia such items were variously made in high and low grade silver, silver plate and silver substitutes like white brass. You would need to test it to get a id on the metal. The green residue in the top left round may be suggestive of copper content, so white brass (or low grade silver), or may just be from solder.

 

Thanks for your prompt reply. Much appreciated !

 

I bet @Any Jewelry nails this cold. I wouldn't be surprised if it were silver and equally not surprised if it's not. At first glance it looked Indian, thanks to the cow, but the cow looks "funny" for India or Bangladesh. Indonesia sounds more like it.

 

I bet the 2 round holes above the shields had a glass or stone cabochon in them.

 

Perhaps Sri Lankan (Ceylon). The bull (Nandi) couchant, facing left with right foreleg raised, and the crescent moon are symbols associated with the Jaffna royal family.

https://www.jaffnaroyalfamily.org/coatofarms.html

The "lion" faces also look more Sri Lankan than Balinese, imo.

 

Many thanks for all your comments and suggestions !

 

Good spot, and that does fit well including the point that much more silver came from Ceylon than Indonesia in the early 20th C. I'd gone with them being mask heads rather than lions with the flourishes looking Balinese and there didn't seem to be snakes in the headdress typical of Ceylon.

 

It is very nice, Stiftgasse, and you did very well for 10 euros.

Agree, most likely Sri Lanka. Definitely not Indonesian.

That depends on where you were. Here we had much more Indonesian silver, in fact it was promoted as part of the support program for Indonesian artisans.
I get the feeling Stiftgasse lives next door to us, so to speak.

 

Those cobras are only seen on the masks used for healing dances. There are more types of Sri Lankan masks, even fairly plain ones. Some are seen on these sites:

https://lanka-houses.com/sightseeing/ambalangoda-mask-museum.html
http://ariyapalamasks.com/

 

Once again - many sincere thanks for all your helpful info !!!!