The small box once belonged to Rudyard Kipling and sits on display at his former home, but curators didn’t pay much attention to it — until now.

The model, which is on view at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, was made from a wooden box measuring 29.5 by 22 by 14.4 inches (74.9 by 56 by 36.5 centimeters). The slightly peaked ...