Throne
early 19th century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
According to tradition, this chair was a gift from Bahadur Shah, the last Mughal Emperor. He presented it to General Sir George Brooke, KCB. By about 1810 to 1820, Indian princes routinely presented British officials with gifts of high-quality furniture as well as more traditional items such as shawls and robes of honour. Marble was one of a variety of precious materials used for thrones at Mughal and Rajput courts. As Europeans became more powerful in India, some marble thrones adopted the shape of western-style chairs, as this example shows.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
|
| Materials and techniques | Carved and pierced marble |
| Brief description | Throne chair of carved and pierced marble, Delhi, early 19th century. |
| Physical description | Throne chair of carved and pierced marble. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Credit line | Given by Mrs Edith Johnson, Broughton Rectory, Huntingdon |
| Object history | Register entry: "Presented by the King of Delhi to the late General Sir George Brooke, K.C.B." Given by Mrs Edith Johnson, Broughton Rectory, Huntingdon. This acquisition information reflects that found in the Museum records (Asia Department registers and/or Central Inventory) as part of a 2023 provenance research project. RP 96800/99 |
| Summary | According to tradition, this chair was a gift from Bahadur Shah, the last Mughal Emperor. He presented it to General Sir George Brooke, KCB. By about 1810 to 1820, Indian princes routinely presented British officials with gifts of high-quality furniture as well as more traditional items such as shawls and robes of honour. Marble was one of a variety of precious materials used for thrones at Mughal and Rajput courts. As Europeans became more powerful in India, some marble thrones adopted the shape of western-style chairs, as this example shows. |
| Bibliographic reference | Luxury goods from India : the art of the Indian cabinet maker / Amin Jaffer. London: V&A Publications, 2002 Number: 1851773819
pp.94-95 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | IS.15:1, 2-1899 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | November 29, 2002 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest
