This miniature bureau-cabinet was made at Vizagapatam, a port situated on the east coast of India which possessed a fine harbour and a textile-producing hinterland, both of which attracted European settlement and introduced a demand locally for western-style furniture. Although large-scale pieces of furniture were sometimes made at Vizagapatam, the greater part of the trade was in portable, easily transportable furniture, such as this piece, which copies a well-known mid 18th century form, but in miniature.

The timber required for the furniture was readily available from nearby forests, and being the only natural harbour between Calcutta and Madras, Vizagapatam became a popular port of call frequented both by European vessels travelling between Europe and the Far East, and smaller local crafts trading along the coast.

The earliest Vizagapatam manufactures can be dated on stylistic grounds to the beginning of the 18th century, although the first references to the industry dates to the 1750s, when Major John Corneille wrote of Vizagapatam that its ‘chintz is esteemed the best in India for the brightness of its colours’, and that ‘The place is likewise remarkable for its inlay work, and justly, for they do it to the greatest perfection.’