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Armchair

Armchair
ca. 1785 (made)
Artist/Maker
Unknown
Place of origin
Murshidabad (made)

This chair, its pair and the accompanying table are of solid ivory. They were made in Murshidabad, the nawabi capital of Bengal and a famous centre of ivory-carving. Furniture makers there made small quantities of western-style pieces, possibly only as commissions. Mani Begum of Murshidabad gave these pieces as part of a special gift to Warren Hastings, the first British Governor-General of India. Their western forms and exotic working reflect the blend of tastes at Indian courts at this time.
Hastings kept his ivory furniture at Daylesford, his newly built country seat in Worcestershire (now Gloucestershire). Reverend F.E. Witts visited the house in 1827 and noted that the drawing-room was 'remarkable for its suite of ivory chairs and sofas'.


Object details

Categories
Furniture
SCRAN
Object type
Armchair
TitleArmchair
Materials and techniques
Ivory, carved, pierced and partly gilded, with a caned seat
Ivory
Brief description
Carved ivory chair, solid ivory, carved and pierced and partly gilt, Murshidabad, ca. 1785.
Physical description
Chair, solid ivory, carved, pierced and partly gilded, with a circular cane seat. The chair is decorated with carved foliate-like motifs and has five legs, the front three of which have clawed feet.
Dimensions
  • Height: 92.4cm
  • Seat height: 49cm
  • Approx. width: 71.5cm
Credit line
Bequeathed by John Jones
Object history
This chair is traditionally (and erroneously) associated with Tipu Sultan.
Subjects depicted
Foliation (Pattern)
Claw
Summary
This chair, its pair and the accompanying table are of solid ivory. They were made in Murshidabad, the nawabi capital of Bengal and a famous centre of ivory-carving. Furniture makers there made small quantities of western-style pieces, possibly only as commissions. Mani Begum of Murshidabad gave these pieces as part of a special gift to Warren Hastings, the first British Governor-General of India. Their western forms and exotic working reflect the blend of tastes at Indian courts at this time.
Hastings kept his ivory furniture at Daylesford, his newly built country seat in Worcestershire (now Gloucestershire). Reverend F.E. Witts visited the house in 1827 and noted that the drawing-room was 'remarkable for its suite of ivory chairs and sofas'.
Bibliographic references
  • Skelton, Robert, et al, The Indian Heritage. Court life and Arts under Mughal Rule London: The Victoria and Albert Museum, 1982 cat.568, p. 168, Veronica Murphy Guy, J., and Swallow, D., (eds). ‘Arts of India: 1550-1900’. London : Victoria and Albert Museum, 1990. ISBN 1851770224.p.202-203, pl.176.
  • Das, N. and Llewellyn-Jones, R. (eds.). Murshidabad: Forgotten Capital of Bengal, ISBN 978-81-921106-9-1. Marg, Mumbai, 2013. ISBN 978-81-921106-9-1. p.116, pl. 15
  • Luxury goods from India : the art of the Indian cabinet maker / Amin Jaffer. London: V&A Publications, 2002 Number: 1851773819 pp.82-83
  • The art of India and Pakistan, a commemorative catalogue of the exhibition held at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, 1947-8. Edited by Sir Leigh Ashton. London: Faber and Faber, [1950] p. 237, cat. no. 1281
Collection
South & South East Asia Collection
Accession number
1075-1882

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Record createdDecember 15, 1999
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O16031/armchair-armchair-unknown/
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