An 18th century Anglo-Indian Vizagapatam desk box on stand, circa 1760, Vizagapatam, South India, of freestanding form, in padouk with foliate ivory inlays, two-part hinged top sloping to the front, vacant two-part interior, original English brass escutcheons and steel key, the original separate stand of English Chippendale design.
This high quality box and stand were made in Vizagapatam, a natural harbour on the Coromandel Coast of India, renowned for its cabinet-making in the 18th and 19th centuries. It produced furniture for wealthy Western buyers based on Western forms with Indian ornamentation, in particular inlaying wood with floral designs in ivory which was engraved and highlighted with lac (insect resin producing a black ink-like appearance).
Major John Corneille of the British Army wrote in 1756 of the inlaid furniture of Vizagapatam, that the city was ‘remarkable for its inlay work, and justly, for they do it to the greatest perfection’.
