GUJARAT OR SINDH, 17TH CENTURY

Details

AN INDO-PORTUGUESE IVORY-INLAID CASKET
GUJARAT OR SINDH, 17TH CENTURY
Of rectangular form with hinged fall front, the top and four sides all decorated with marquetry panels, each with a composition centered around three trees surrounded by near-symmetrical arrangements of lions, humans and birds, the reverse of the front similar, the seven drawers with floral sprays surrounded by confronted birds, the reverse with concentric inlaid panels, old damages and loss of inlay, particularly on the top, fall front adapted and then reversed
13¾ x 21½ x 15½in. (35 x 54.5 x 39.5cm.)

Special notice

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

Cabinets with a similar decorative composition are commonly attributed to Gujarat or Sindh, notably on the basis of contemporary accounts from European travellers to India. According to the Dutch merchant Francisco Pelsaerts, Tatta, Sindh, was in 1626 a centre of manufacture for 'ornamental desks, writing cases [...] very prettily inlaid with ivory and ebony' and Surat, Gujarat, according to James Ovington was a source of 'Desks, Sutores and Boxes neatly polisht and embellisht' in the late 1680's (Amin Jaffer, Luxury Goods from India, London, 2002, p. 18.) A comparable cabinet is in the Victoria and Albert Museum datable to the early 17th century (op. cit., p.44). Two similar caskets sold in these Rooms, 6 October 2009, lot 276, and 7 April 2011, lot 256.

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