Indo-Portuguese Table Cabinet
Gujarat, Mughal India, 17th century
Wood, tortoisehell, ivory, gold leaf, gilt bronze, silver
21 cm high, 30 cm wide, 22 cm deep
This item contains less than 10% ivory and has been registered with DEFRA.
21 cm high, 30 cm wide, 22 cm deep
This item contains less than 10% ivory and has been registered with DEFRA.
A3496
Further images
Provenance: Purchased in the UK over 15 years ago.
A small wooden drop-front writing cabinet veneered with tortoiseshell panels backed with gold leaf within ivory borders together with ebony stringing. The drop-front opening to reveal an arrangement of drawers. The front of the cabinet with a silver double-headed eagle escutcheon and gilt-bronze handles to each side.
A very similar drop-front cabinet with near-identical dimensions is in the Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore (accession no. 2011-01508). It is attributed to Gujurat, 17th century. Further similar tortoiseshell and ivory veneered drop-front writing cabinets are pictured in Mobiliário Indo-Português, and are all dated to the 17th century, Mughal India.[1] Amongst these, a particular noteworthy example is a cabinet with a silver plaque bearing a portrait of Catherine the Great and her motto in Russian, proving that objects like this one were luxury goods for the European elite.
[1] Dias, Pedro. Mobiliário Indo-Português. Moreira de Cónegos: Imaginalis, 2013, pp. 112–117.
A small wooden drop-front writing cabinet veneered with tortoiseshell panels backed with gold leaf within ivory borders together with ebony stringing. The drop-front opening to reveal an arrangement of drawers. The front of the cabinet with a silver double-headed eagle escutcheon and gilt-bronze handles to each side.
A very similar drop-front cabinet with near-identical dimensions is in the Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore (accession no. 2011-01508). It is attributed to Gujurat, 17th century. Further similar tortoiseshell and ivory veneered drop-front writing cabinets are pictured in Mobiliário Indo-Português, and are all dated to the 17th century, Mughal India.[1] Amongst these, a particular noteworthy example is a cabinet with a silver plaque bearing a portrait of Catherine the Great and her motto in Russian, proving that objects like this one were luxury goods for the European elite.
[1] Dias, Pedro. Mobiliário Indo-Português. Moreira de Cónegos: Imaginalis, 2013, pp. 112–117.