Casket
1810-1820 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The shape of this workbox, based on a classical sarcophagus, reveals the extent to which craftsmen working in Vizagapatam in the early 19th century were familiar with the prevailing European taste for Antiquity and classical styles. The styling of the casket also illustrates how in the period European patrons of Indian cabinet-work preferred objects that conformed to the latest western fashions rather than those that reflected indigenous artistic traditions.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Wood, veneered with ivory, engraved and highlighted with lac; silver carrying handles and drawer pulls |
| Brief description | Casket, made of wood with ivory veneer in Visakapatnam, India, 1810-20 |
| Physical description | Casket of sarcophagus shape, of wood, veneered with ivory, engraved and highlighted with lac, with silver carrying handles and drawer pulls. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label | Work box
Wood veneered with ivory, incised and filled with black lac, the interior lined with sandalwood; silver mounts
Vishakhapatnam, c. 1810-20
IS.9-1945
Bequeathed by Alice Haldane
English Regency sarcophagus-shaped workboxes inspired the form of this piece which originally had four feet.(2010) |
| Credit line | Bequeathed by Alice Haldane |
| Summary | The shape of this workbox, based on a classical sarcophagus, reveals the extent to which craftsmen working in Vizagapatam in the early 19th century were familiar with the prevailing European taste for Antiquity and classical styles. The styling of the casket also illustrates how in the period European patrons of Indian cabinet-work preferred objects that conformed to the latest western fashions rather than those that reflected indigenous artistic traditions. |
| Bibliographic reference | 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.208-9, pl.52. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | IS.9-1945 |
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| Record created | February 2, 2004 |
| Record URL |
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