.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
This carved sandalwood binding is typical of work by gudigars, hereditary artisans whose ancestors probably came from Goa in the early 16th Century. Sorab, where the present lot was made, is now part of the modern state of Karnataka.
It was probably from 1799, with the defeat of Tipu Sultan, that sandalwood objects started being made for the western market. Many of the motifs in the carvings are specifically Hindu, while the double-headed eagle, which appears on this binding, is the cypher of the Wodiyar dynasty. In the late 19th Century, Sorab in the Shimoga District was regarded as producing the best sandalwood carving. Other examples of carved sandalwood can be seen in A. Jaffer, Furniture from British India and Ceylon, London, 2001, pp. 149-159, including a casket made by M. Puttappa Gudigar, Sorab circa, 1875 (cat. no. 19; V & A: IS 68 - 1886).
It was probably from 1799, with the defeat of Tipu Sultan, that sandalwood objects started being made for the western market. Many of the motifs in the carvings are specifically Hindu, while the double-headed eagle, which appears on this binding, is the cypher of the Wodiyar dynasty. In the late 19th Century, Sorab in the Shimoga District was regarded as producing the best sandalwood carving. Other examples of carved sandalwood can be seen in A. Jaffer, Furniture from British India and Ceylon, London, 2001, pp. 149-159, including a casket made by M. Puttappa Gudigar, Sorab circa, 1875 (cat. no. 19; V & A: IS 68 - 1886).