Table
ca. 1785 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This table and the accompanying pair of chairs 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 western-style pieces in small quantities, possibly only as commissions. These pieces were part of special gift from Mani Begum of Murshidabad 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
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Ivory, carved, pierced and partly gilded, with a brass lock |
| Brief description | Table ivory, Murshidabad, ca. 1785. |
| Physical description | Table, solid ivory, carved, pierced and partly gilded, with a brass lock. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Bequeathed by John Jones |
| Object history | The table is one of the four ivory oval tables given by Mani Begum, wife of Mir Jaffer, Nawab of Murshidabad, to Warren Hastings and kept at Baylesford House. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | This table and the accompanying pair of chairs 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 western-style pieces in small quantities, possibly only as commissions. These pieces were part of special gift from Mani Begum of Murshidabad 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 |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 1085-1882 |
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| Record created | November 29, 2002 |
| Record URL |
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