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AN INDIAN 'SADELIWORK' DRUM TABLE

CIRCA 1860-80, PROBABLY BOMBAY

Details
AN INDIAN 'SADELIWORK' DRUM TABLE
CIRCA 1860-80, PROBABLY BOMBAY
Inlaid overall with geometric patterns of micro-mosaic ivory, green-stained ivory, ebony, tin and hardwood, the sixteen-sided top with eight drawers with silvered handles, on tripartite base with square-section scrolled legs joined by a later undertier added to provide support
28¼ in. (71.5 cm.) high; 41¾ in. (106 cm.) diameter
Literature
Cf. Furniture from British India & Ceylon, A. Jaffer, London, 2001, pp. 313-329
Special notice
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis. Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country.

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Sebastian Goetz
Sebastian Goetz

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Lot Essay

Indian micromosaic work, known as sadeli, made its way to Sindh from Shiraz during the 16th century, and thence to the Bombay Presidency towards the end of the 18th century. An intricate and delicate mixture of materials including ivory, green-stained ivory, tin, horn, ebony and sappan wood, the majority of items produced were small in scale and portable such as boxes, inkstands, watchstands and other small implements. Such objects were easily exported to England and are recorded in several collections in the 19th century, including that of Queen Charlotte (sold Christie's London, 24 May 1819, lots 101, 116, 118). Small tables and chairs were sometimes made, as illustrated in a photograph taken circa 1902 by J.A.G. Wales (Wales, J.A.G., A Monograph on Wood Carving in the Bombay Presidency, n.p., Bombay, 1902) of Surat carvers making an octagonal drum table, but larger items, such as the present example, are very rare.

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