'Lady Clive's Vizagapatam Ivory Occasional Table'
Indian - (Vizagapatam, Madras) School
Category
Furniture
Date
circa 1790
Materials
Ivory, hardwood, silver
Measurements
74.9 cm (H); 53 cm (W); 37.4 cm (d)
Place of origin
Vizagatappatam
Order this imageCollection
Powis Castle and Garden, Powys
NT 1180670
Summary
An incised ivory veneered occasional table, Indian, Vizagapatam, circa 1790. The oval top above a shallow drawer to the frieze and raised on square section tapered legs tied by a X stretcher. The top decorated with an oval cartouche inscribed 'LADY CLIVE' framed by a broad and a narrow floral garland, each leg decorated with a pendant rope of buds and the X-stretcher with a central floral cartouche and floral borders.
Full description
The port of Vizagapatam on the Coromandel Coast in Eastern India was a centre of Anglo Indian furniture and textile manufacture and export in the second half of the 18th Century. The form of this table is inspired by English examples of the late 18th century combined with Indian techniques which utilized the available ivory and exotic hardwoods. The densely foliated patterns, based on indigenous plants, mirror that of the Vizagapatam Chintz fabrics that were popular throughout Europe during this period. The name Lady Clive appears in the oval cartouche to the top and is presumably the 'Ivory Table' listed no.9 among items shipped from Madras when Lady Clive returned to England in 1801. (James Weedon, February 2019)
Provenance
Probably the 'Ivory Table' listed no.9 amongst the items shipped from Madras when Lady Henrietta Clive (1758-1830) returned to England in 1801. Brought to Powis Castle from Walcot Hall in 1930. Accepted by HM Treasury on 21st March, 1963 in lieu of tax and conveyed to National Trust ownership on 29th November 1963.
Marks and inscriptions
Top ivory panel: 'Lady Clive'
Makers and roles
Indian - (Vizagapatam, Madras) School , maker
References
Archer, Mildred Treasures from India [1987]., p.83