Mirror and drawers
Toilet Glass
1790-1800 (made)
1790-1800 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
A toilet glass is a small cabinet with a swinging mirror. It usually sat on a lady's dressing table. Such furniture was often highly decorative and personalised. The owner of this example, for instance, had her initials, 'T.F.', engraved on the oval cresting. This toilet glass is of sandalwood, veneered in ivory. It was made at the Indian coastal town of Vizagapatam, where furniture makers produced western-style furniture embellished with ivory. The decoration is in the Neo-classical style popular when the piece was made in 1790-1800.
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Title | Mirror and drawers |
| Materials and techniques | Sandalwood, veneered with engraved ivory, with silver mounts.
The ivory is from the African elephant, Loxodonta africana.
Sandalwood, Santalum Album, is from India |
| Brief description | Toilet glass; mirror on a stand, sandalwood, veneered with engraved ivory, Vishakhapatnam, 1790-1800. |
| Physical description | Toilet glass; mirror on a stand, sandalwood, veneered with engraved ivory, with silver mounts. |
| Dimensions |
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| Object history | Neo-classical ornament of this type characterizes Vizagapatam work of the 1790s. |
| Summary | A toilet glass is a small cabinet with a swinging mirror. It usually sat on a lady's dressing table. Such furniture was often highly decorative and personalised. The owner of this example, for instance, had her initials, 'T.F.', engraved on the oval cresting. This toilet glass is of sandalwood, veneered in ivory. It was made at the Indian coastal town of Vizagapatam, where furniture makers produced western-style furniture embellished with ivory. The decoration is in the Neo-classical style popular when the piece was made in 1790-1800. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | IS.31-1975 |
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| Record created | November 29, 2002 |
| Record URL |
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