Chair
Category
Furniture
Date
circa 1800
Materials
Ivory, parcel gilt, cane
Measurements
89 cm (H); 53 cm (W); 48 cm (D)
Place of origin
Murshidabad
Order this imageCollection
Treasurer's House, North Yorkshire
NT 592868.1
Summary
One of a pair of solid ivory and cane chairs, Indian, Murshidabad, circa 1800. Each with a triple spindle back, cane seats and tapering turned legs joined by turned stretchers. Traces of parcel gilt decoration.
Full description
This pair of chairs and a pedestal table (NT 592867) in the Treasurer's House collection are predominantly solid ivory. They were probably made in Murshidabad, the Nawabi capital of Bengal and a famous centre for ivory-carving. Furniture makers there made small quantities of western-style pieces, possibly only as commissions. Historically it is believed the Nawab of Bengal gave these pieces as part of a special gift to Warren Hastings (1732-1818), the first British Governor-General of India, however this is unlikely as Hastings retired from his post in 1785 and the furniture stylistically post dates this by at least a decade.(James Weedon, December 2019)
Provenance
Given by Frank Green (1861-1954) along with house, garden and contents to the National Trust in 1930. Recorded in pre-1930 Treasurer's House inventory with note: 'Isaacs Dec 30th 1911" - probably firm of D.L.Isaacs from whom Green is known to have made other purchases.
References
Jaffer 2001 : Amin Jaffer, Furniture from British India and Ceylon, a catalogue of the collection in the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Peabody Essex Museum, London, V&A publications, 2001.