Enrica Medugno
Senior Sale Coordinator
Lot 132Ф,W,Y
A fine Indo-Portuguese tortoiseshell veneered and ivory-inlaid wood cabinet Gujarat or Sindh, circa 1710(4)
22 May 2025, 11:00 BST
London, New Bond Street£20,000 - £30,000
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Oliver White
Head of Department
A fine Indo-Portuguese tortoiseshell veneered and ivory-inlaid wood cabinet
Gujarat or Sindh, circa 1710
Gujarat or Sindh, circa 1710
of rectangular form with hinged domed lid opening to reveal a removable drawer with five compartments, below a further compartment, both drawers and inside of lid lined in green velvet, three dummy drawers to the front, each with gilt metal lock plate, the central drawer with working lock for lid, below two hinged doors decorated in ivory and tortoiseshell with six-pointed stars, each with gilt metal lock plate and flowerheads, the right hand door with working lock, the doors opening to reveal sixteen fronts with gilt metal handles, opening to eleven drawers, profusely veneered and inlaid in tortoiseshell and ivory, gilt metal handle to either side, with keys and later stand
53 x 52.3 x 34.8 cm.(4)
53 x 52.3 x 34.8 cm.(4)
Footnotes
Provenance
Formerly in the collection of Lady Ottoline Morrell, Garsington Manor, Oxford, and thence by descent until sold at Christie's South Kensington, Christie's Interiors - Style & Spirit, 23 September 2008, lot 307.
Lady Ottoline Morrell (1873-1938) was a patron of the arts and society hostess associated with the Bloomsbury Group. Ottoline married the solicitor, and then Liberal MP, Philip Morrell in 1902 following extensive travels. Their home from 1915 was Garsington Manor, and Ottoline held social gatherings as opportunities for intellectual and literary discussion and networking, with visitors including Aldous Huxley, Augustus John, Bertrand Russell, Henry Lamb and Lytton Strachey. Numerous photographs and portraits of Ottoline are in the National Portrait Gallery, London, including a painting by Augustus John (Accession No. NPG 6095).
A 17th Century cabinet from Gujarat with similar tortoiseshell and ivory components is in the Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore (Accession No. 2011-01508).
The item within this lot containing ivory has been registered in accordance with the Ivory Act (Section 10), reference no. PYY11LPG.