ANTIQUE 'S INDIAN BRASS ZOOMORPHIC ARECA OR BETEL NUT
A Brass areca or betel nut cutter with iron blade, stylised dragon-shaped head and handgrips ending in finials. This pair of shears with a stylised dragon-shaped head, is for slicing and peeling shavings from the hard areca nut. Over the years the areca nut has become known as the betel nut because it is the main ingredient of the 'quid' formed by folding a betel leaf around a variety of ingredients. People chew the quid to release the flavours inside and it acts as a stimulant. Preparation of a quid requires care and attention and used to be a skill associated with courtly women. Items used in the preparation process, such as betel nut cutters, were beautifully crafted and valued instruments. This cutter is most probably from South India or Sri Lanka where they often incorporated human and animal forms into their designs, such as the dragon and the bird on the head of this instrument.