This leather pouch was a container for an official letter or proclamation (firman) issued by a person of standing within the Mughal empire of the 18th century. It is one of a group of three acquired by the museum in 1923, and would have been lined with fine taffeta. Most of the linings have perished, but small remnants indicate that the taffeta was originally pigment-painted with trellis designs.Rectangular firman slip case in painted leather, India, probably 18th century.Rectangular slip case in painted leather and with a fold-over flap top scalloped at the end. Decorated with stamped, painted and gilt motifs, lined with silk damask. The pattern consists of diagonal rows of vesica-shaped compartments each enclosing a flowering iris-plant. The ground is stamped with a diamond-diaper. The yellow silk lining is damasked with a diamond-trellis enclosing open diamond shapes. For an official letter (Firman).