The shape of this set of four Indian chairs follows a familiar English design. However, these chairs are made of wood veneered with ivory rather than wood alone. The oval backs, fluted legs, beaded decoration and oval rosette paterae are commonly found in furniture patterns and seat furniture from the 1780s. Designs by the English furniture manufacturer Gillows for this decade include oval-backed chairs. They also appear in all three editions of The Cabinet-Maker and Upholsterer's Guide (1788, 1789, 1794) by the English furniture maker George Hepplewhite. His chairs have open backs with intricate splats. In Canton, Chinese furniture makers made chairs in a similar design for export to Europe. This suggests that there were strong similarities between furniture made in China and India for western patrons.