SRI LANKA, FIRST HALF 19TH CENTURY

This form of armchair, designed with shorter back legs and inclined seat, was first made on the island of Ceylon. Possible inspiration for this armchairs's design were chairs with these characteristics featuring in Thomas King's 'Modern Style of Cabinet Work Exemplified', a pattern book published in 1829 that provided designs for stock products from Galle furniture workshops. This form of ebony armchair was widely produced, and a great variety existed - from the current restrained version, to more exuberant types with elaborate carving, usually incorporating foliate and shell motifs. H. C. Sirr in his account of Ceylon published in 1850, noted how in Colombo there was available 'the most exquisitely carved ebony furniture conceivable' (A. Jaffer, Furniture from British India and Ceylon, London, 2001, p. 378).