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Candlestand

Candlestand

  • Place of origin:

    Murshidabad, India (made)

  • Date:

    ca. 1790 (made)

  • Artist/Maker:

    Unknown (production)

  • Materials and Techniques:

    Solid ivory, turned, carved and partly gilded

  • Credit Line:

    Given by the 5th Earl Amherst of Arracan

  • Museum number:

    IS.12-1991

  • Gallery location:

    South Asia, room 41, case 25

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The word teapoy comes from the Hindi 'tin' 'pai', meaning 'three leg' or tripod. In British India tripod tables and small pillar tables in general were known as teapoys. Furniture makers copied the teapoy's form directly from the European candlestand. People used teapoys mainly as stands for candles and candle shades, although illustrations show that they were sometimes also used as a hookah stand. In Britain, the term teapoy was mistakenly linked with tea. The British began to use it to describe a small pillar table incorporating a caddy or chest fitted for the storage and consumption of tea.

Physical description

Candlestand, solid ivory, turned, carved and partly gilded. Has a small table on a pillar stand with three legs, each with a clawed foot.

Place of Origin

Murshidabad, India (made)

Date

ca. 1790 (made)

Artist/maker

Unknown (production)

Materials and Techniques

Solid ivory, turned, carved and partly gilded

Dimensions

Height: 73 cm, Diameter: 31.5 cm

Object history note

In British India tripod tables - and small pillar tables in general - were known as 'teapoys' from the Hindi 'tin' 'pai', literally 'three leg' or tripod.
Amin Jaffer, Luxury Goods From India: the art of the Indian Cabinet-Maker, London : V&A, 2002, pp. 86-87, ill. ISBN: 1 85177 381 9.

Descriptive line

Candlestand or 'teapoy' (tripod table), solid ivory, turned, carved and partly gilded.

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

Amin Jaffer, Luxury Goods From India: the art of the Indian Cabinet-Maker, London : V&A, 2002, pp. 86-87, ill. ISBN: 1 85177 381 9, p.250, pl.83.

Subjects depicted

Claw feet

Collection code

SSEA

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Qr_O71098
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