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'THE GOLDEN BOWL' (2001) AN INDIAN IVORY-INLAID EBONY AND ROSEWOOD CABINET-ON-STAND

GUJARAT OR SINDH, LATE 17TH/EARLY 18TH CENTURY, THE DOORS PROBABLY REVERSED AND REMOUNTED, THE SUPERSTRUCTURE AND STAND ENGLISH AND ASSOCIATED IN THE 19TH CENTURY

Details

'THE GOLDEN BOWL' (2001)
AN INDIAN IVORY-INLAID EBONY AND ROSEWOOD CABINET-ON-STAND
GUJARAT OR SINDH, LATE 17TH/EARLY 18TH CENTURY, THE DOORS PROBABLY REVERSED AND REMOUNTED, THE SUPERSTRUCTURE AND STAND ENGLISH AND ASSOCIATED IN THE 19TH CENTURY
The mirrored galleried-top above two hinged doors intricately inlaid with stylized flowers within geometric borders enclosing an arrangement of inlaid drawers, below a frieze on faceted tapering legs and ball feet, the underside inscribed in chalk 'TADCASTER', the reverse of one drawer with a label for the International Exhibition of Persian Art, London, 1931 inscribed 'BT/TL'
62.1.2 in. (159 cm.) high; 34 in. (86.5 cm.) wide; 18½ in. (47 cm.) deep

Provenance

Mrs Butler, circa 1931.
The Merchant Ivory Production 'The Golden Bowl' (2001).

Literature

Exhibition catalogue, International Exhibition of Persian Art, London, The Royal Academy of Arts, 1931, p. 309, no. 800.

Exhibited

London, The Royal Academy of Arts, International Exhibition of Persian Art, 7th January - 7 March, 1931, no. 800, loaned by Mrs Butler.

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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Lot Essay

This exotic storage cabinet for precious objects, displaying inlaid panels of flowers, typifies the seventeenth-century Portuguese East India Company manufacture associated with the West Indian coastal regions of Gujarat and Sindh and recalling the painting traditions of Gujarati and Rajasthani art (A. Jaffer, Luxury Goods from India; The Art of the Indian Cabinet-Maker, London, 2002, pp.31 and 32). Such work was prized as 'Elizabethan' by early 19th century antiquarians (A. Jaffer, Furniture from British India and Ceylon, London, 200l, no.32).

'The Golden Bowl' is a 2001 Merchant Ivory Production directed by James Ivory, produced by Ismail Merchant and adapted from the Henry James novel by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. The film was shot at locations in England and Italy, including Burghley, Belvoir Castle and Palazzo Borghese. Starring Uma Thurman, Nick Nolte, Kate Beckinsale, and Jeremy Northam, it is the story of two marriages entangled with each other in a complex relationship.
This cabinet was in the 'Indian Corner' of the London flat of the Assinghams, played by Angelica Huston and James Fox.

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