Chessboard
ca. 1855 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
The sadeli technique with which this games board is decorated is a type of micro-mosaic inlay made with faceted strips of diverse materials such as tin, horn, ivory, sappan wood and ebony. In 19th-century India this technique was most widely practised in Bombay and fancy articles decorated in this way were generically known as 'Bombay boxes'. This piece, however, was made in Calcutta, where a family of sadeli artisans had settled in the mid-19th century.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Rosewood, the exterior veneered and the interior lined with sandalwood; partly decorated with micromosaic of wood and metals; silvered brass mounts |
| Brief description | Folding games board, rosewood, c.1855, Calcutta. |
| Physical description | Folding games board of rosewood, the exterior veneered and the interior lined with sandalwood, partly decorated with micromosaic of wood and metals; with silver brass mounts. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | Transferred from the India Museum in 1879. 1880 Register Entry: [Room 8. Wall Case 30.] '01,155. CHESS BOARD. Sandalwood, covered with ivory and mosaic; Bombay. 4,295' |
| Summary | The sadeli technique with which this games board is decorated is a type of micro-mosaic inlay made with faceted strips of diverse materials such as tin, horn, ivory, sappan wood and ebony. In 19th-century India this technique was most widely practised in Bombay and fancy articles decorated in this way were generically known as 'Bombay boxes'. This piece, however, was made in Calcutta, where a family of sadeli artisans had settled in the mid-19th century. |
| 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.233, pl.73. |
| Other number | 4295 - India Museum Slip Book |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 01155(IS) |
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| Record created | February 5, 2004 |
| Record URL |
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