ANGLO-INDIAN ROSEWOOD AND IVORY MARQUETRY TABLE BUREAU

ANGLO-INDIAN ROSEWOOD AND IVORY MARQUETRY TABLE BUREAU, Vizagapatam, basically mid 18th century, the top, fall front and sides with borders of scrolling foliage and flower heads, the hinged front opening to a fully fitted interior with an arrangement of seven drawers around three pigeonholes, all with lac heightened decoration; the drawer beneath with concave arcaded frieze and also fully fitted, with compartments and four lift out boxes, all with fitted covers; on four turned feet, 29cm high, 54cm wide, 26cm deep Note: This form table bureau (originally with looking glass) is based on a shape that was current in England in the first quarter of the eighteenth century and was copied by Indian craftsmen working for English patrons in India. Whilst the English prototype tends to be plain and undecorated, the Indian variant is richly embellished in ivory with exotic foliage inspired by designs on contemporary Coromandel coast chintzes produced primarily for the Dutch market (Jaffer 2001, pp.189-190) A very similar table bureau which belonged to Clive of India is now at Powis Castle (Amin Jaffer, 'Furniture from British India and Ceylon', V & A Publications, 2001, fig.73, p.172). Compare also a table bureau, missing its toilet glass, in the Victoria and Albert Museum, IS 176-1950 (Jaffer 2001, no.40, pp.189-190) See Sotheby's London, 'The Indian Sale', 23rd May 2006, lot 38, for a very similar example