FIRST HALF 19TH CENTURY, MURSHIDABAD

Details

AN ANGLO-INDIAN IVORY SIDE CHAIR
First half 19th Century, Murshidabad
The arched padded back and serpentine seat covered in tangerine silk velvet, the back with foliate-carved upper corners and centred by an anthemion, the lower corner with pierced foliate spandrels, on turned baluster legs headed by pierced foliate angle-brackets, on tapering feet
31 in. (79 cm.) high

Special notice

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Lot Essay

Murshidabad, in Bengal, in the east of India, is well-known as a centre of ivory carving. In the early 18th Century, the Mughal Governor of Bengal, Nawab Murshid Quli Khan, moved his capital there from Dacca and the city was named after him. Stratigically situated on a trading route, it continued to be a centre of courtly patronage even after Calcutta became the British capital of Bengal. Much of the ivory carving consisted of small objects, however craftsmen did produce furniture in solid ivory, based on Western styles, like the present lot. Ivory chairs from Murshidabad and based on English designs are illustrated in A. Jaffer, Furniture from British India and Ceylon, London, 2001, pp. 252-261.

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