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VIZAGAPATAM LUXURY IVORY GOODS Vizagapatam, a port to the north of the Eastern Coromandel coast of India, was renowned from the late seventeenth century for its craftsmens' skilled inlaying and veneering of ivory over wooden carcasses. The intricate designs produced there were aligned to Western forms and often engraved with Western scenes. Furniture and objects manufactured in Vizagapatam were considered luxury goods and retailed in Madras and Calcutta. Their popularity spread further by examples brought back to England by leading officials of the East India Company such as Clive of India and Warren Hastings. THE PROPERTY OF A LADY (LOTS 719-720)

AN INDIAN ENGRAVED IVORY WORK-BOX

LATE 18TH CENTURY, VIZAGAPATAM

Details

AN INDIAN ENGRAVED IVORY WORK-BOX
LATE 18TH CENTURY, VIZAGAPATAM
Modelled as a house, the façade decorated with a seascape and the sides and back with windows and trees, the hinged lid enclosing a satinwood-lined interior with a pin-cushion, thimble-holder, two lidded compartments and dividers, with a satinwood-lined side drawer, on a solid plinth base, the front panel reused
6¼ in. (15.5 cm.) high; 6¾ in. (17 cm.) wide; 4½ in. (11 cm.) deep

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.

Lot Essay

Towards the end of the eighteenth century, the workshops in Vizagapatam began to restrict themselves to manufacturing smaller objects such as cabinets and boxes. These were made in large quantities. Being easily portable, they attracted more business from passing trade than larger items of furniture. This intricately-engraved sewing-box, modelled as a Western-style house is a typical example. A related work-box, also modelled in the form of a house was sold by the late Christopher Rowley, Esq., Wormington Manor, Worcestershire, Sotheby's house sale, 21-22 July 2003, lot 624.

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