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Cabinet

Cabinet

  • Place of origin:

    Gujarat (possibly, made)
    Sindh (possibly, made)

  • Date:

    early 17th century (made)

  • Artist/Maker:

    Unknown

  • Materials and Techniques:

    Shisham, veneered with rosewood and inlaid with various tropical woods, with brass and wrought iron mounts

  • Museum number:

    122-1906

  • Gallery location:

    In Storage

This type of portable fall-front cabinet held personal effects. It was an essential item for European merchants and traders living and travelling in Asia. Indian furniture makers, particularly those in centres of luxury woodwork such as Sindh and Gujarat, produced them in quantity. There are many examples with similar decoration of tigers astride a central vase, flanked by hunters. On this example the inlay on the inside face of the fall-front is upside down. This means that when the fall-front is open, the inlay work faces the cabinet rather than the person using it.

Physical description

Fall front cabinet of shisham wood, veneered with rosewood and inlaid with various tropical woods, with brass and wrought iron mounts.

Place of Origin

Gujarat (possibly, made)
Sindh (possibly, made)

Date

early 17th century (made)

Artist/maker

Unknown

Materials and Techniques

Shisham, veneered with rosewood and inlaid with various tropical woods, with brass and wrought iron mounts

Dimensions

Height: 32 cm, Width: 48 cm, Depth: 39 cm

Descriptive line

Fall front cabinet of shisham wood, veneered with rosewood and inlaid with various tropical woods, Gujarat or Sindh, early 17th century.

Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)

pp.44-45, ill.
Luxury goods from India : the art of the Indian cabinet maker / Amin Jaffer. London: V&A Publications, 2002 Number: 1851773819

Subjects depicted

Figures; Hunters; Birds; Lions; Foliation (pattern)

Categories

Furniture

Collection

South & South East Asia Collection

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