Mirror Frame and Hanging Shelf
1881-1882 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
In the late 19th century Hoshiarpur, a town in the Punjab, became an important centre for the production of ivory-inlaid furniture for export to different parts of India and to the West. This mirror and hanging shelf are typical of Hoshiarpur work, which is characterised by dense ivory inlay in foliate designs, with borders of alternating ivory and ebony (or ebonised wood).
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Shisham wood, partly carved and inlaid with wood, ebonized wood and ivory
Shisham wood is from the deciduous tree of the the sub-Himalayan tract. It is a durable wood, which does not warp or split and is one of the most esteemed woods used for furniture making in the north of India along with deodar (Himalayan cedar). While Rosewood and sal are more commonly found furniture and wares of the south, inlaid and wood carving from Saharanpur, Farakhabad, Lucknow, Chiniot, Hoshiapur and Jallandar would be based on shisham wood. |
| Brief description | Mirror frame and hanging shelf, made in Hoshiarpur, c.1881-2. Made from caved shisham wood inlaid with ivory and ebonized wood. |
| Physical description | Both pieces of shisham, partly carved and inlaid with wood, ebonized wood and ivory, in designs of scrolling vines and leaves. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | The mirror and hanging shelf were acquired in 1881-2 by Caspar Purdon Clarke. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | In the late 19th century Hoshiarpur, a town in the Punjab, became an important centre for the production of ivory-inlaid furniture for export to different parts of India and to the West. This mirror and hanging shelf are typical of Hoshiarpur work, which is characterised by dense ivory inlay in foliate designs, with borders of alternating ivory and ebony (or ebonised wood). |
| Bibliographic reference | Jaffer, Amin Furniture from British India and Ceylon: A Catalogue of the Collections in the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Peabody Essex Museum. London : V&A Publications, 2001. 416 p., ill. ISBN 1851773185, p.290, pl.111. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | IS.2363-1883 |
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| Record created | January 9, 2006 |
| Record URL |
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