A rare pair of fine ebony Side Chairs
Coromandel Coast, circa 1680
Coromandel Coast, circa 1680
each with elaborately carved and turned decoration, the backs relief-carved with monkeys in a scrolling floral landscape with pine cone finials to either side, below seven barley twist balusters, the seat rails relief-carved with scrolling floral vine, the twist-turned legs punctuated with chamfered rectangular blocks with floral decoration, the rails also twist-turned, upholstered in a modern blue-strip fabric
49 x 48 x 92 cm.(2)
49 x 48 x 92 cm.(2)
Sold for
£6,240
inc. premium
Footnotes
- Provenance: Private UK collection; acquired in the 1940s.
These chairs are from a group which were long thought to have been survivors of early English furniture, a misconception which seems to have been started by Horace Walpole (1717-97). The square form and intricate carving, as well as the dark wood, gave an archaic impression, which gained further credence from the fact that many were in houses with early historical links, such as Esher Place, Thomas Wolsey's home. After initially appearing on the Coromandel Coast around 1660, they were later also made in Ceylon and Java. For two related examples in the Victoria and Albert Museum, see Amin Jaffer, Luxury Goods from India, London 2002, no. 16 and by the same author, Furniture from British India and Ceylon, London 2001, p. 142.
Category: Islamic and Oriental Art / Islamic and Indian Art
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