Toilet Glass thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Toilet Glass

1730-1740 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This toilet glass was made at Vizagapatam, a port on India's east coast where by the early 18th century craftsmen skilled in working with ivory began to apply their traditional skills to the production of furniture and decorative objects for western consumers. Toilet glasses - small cabinets mounted with mirrors that were placed on dressing tables - were standard products of Vizagapatam workshops. This piece, with its profuse inlay of floral motifs and arched mirror plate, is among the earliest known examples of its type.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 17 parts.

  • Mirror Cabinet
  • Drawer
  • Drawer
  • Drawer
  • Drawer
  • Drawer
  • Drawer
  • Drawer
  • Drawer
  • Box
  • Lid
  • Box
  • Lid
  • Box
  • Lid
  • Box
  • Lid
Materials and techniques
Wood, inlaid with ivory
Brief description
Toilet glass, rosewood inlaid with ivory, Vizagapatam, 1730-40.
Physical description
Toilet glass of rosewood, inlaid with ivory, engraved and highlighted with lac, with ivory components and gilt brass escutcheons, later brass locks and brass hinges.
Dimensions
  • Height: 86.5cm
  • Width: 53cm
  • Depth: 27.5cm
Credit line
Bought (Source not recorded)
Summary
This toilet glass was made at Vizagapatam, a port on India's east coast where by the early 18th century craftsmen skilled in working with ivory began to apply their traditional skills to the production of furniture and decorative objects for western consumers. Toilet glasses - small cabinets mounted with mirrors that were placed on dressing tables - were standard products of Vizagapatam workshops. This piece, with its profuse inlay of floral motifs and arched mirror plate, is among the earliest known examples of its type.
Bibliographic references
  • Jaffer, A. Furniture from British India and Ceylon: a catalogue of the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Peabody Essex Museum. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 2001. ISBN 1 85177 318 5.p.187, pl.38.
  • Irwin, John , Art & the East India Trade; Victoria & Albert Museum,, HMSO, London, 1970 No. 18
Collection
Accession number
49-1905

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Record createdJanuary 28, 2004
Record URL
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