$3,850.00
Presenting an absolutely stunning Outstanding Victorian extremely rare 19th century Anglo-Indian Stationery Campaign chest writing box.
Gorgeous and extremely rare and unique 19th century Anglo Indian hardwood box, made in 1897.
19th Century large Anglo-Indian box brass bound, bone and ebony inlaid Hoshiarpur Inlaid Writing Box. This is a stunning example of a Hand crafted Hoshiarpur inlaid writing box. The craftsmanship is quite amazing.
Circa 1870s Anglo Indian writing box of rosewood with elaborate bone inlay in floral pattern.
The box is extensively inlaid in bone and ebony with floral designs within geometric borders.
The front of the box is adorned with stunning floral shaped bone inlay, which depicts leaves, escutcheon.
The box also incorporates brass corner straps to all outer sides. It stands on four feet, has a hinged lid.
The edges are inlaid with alternating ebony and ivory strips. The front, back and sides are all similarly inlaid.
The interior lid with a mirror whose borders are inlaid with bone as well.
The hinged top revealing a fitted interior with compartments.
This is a fine quality and elaborate antique Victorian Anglo Indian colonial campaign wood writing box, circa 1870, in good original condition. It would also be useful as as a vanity or jewelry box.
This box is a truly classic example from the late Victorian period in colonial India and is highly decorative and unique.
The level of detail and craftsmanship displayed is second to none.
It is rare to see an example, which not only is in excellent condition but also in original condition.
Size in inches approx.: H 5.25” x W 12” x D 8.5”
Origin: India
Date: 1870 - 1880
Beautiful original condition and color throughout, no key.
Indian, Circa 1870.
With light scuffs, scratches and worn edges as shown in all the photos provided.
This item is completely solid in structure and form.
A similar box was presented by Hoshiarpur District to Queen Victoria on the occasion of her Golden Jubilee.
It has been on loan from the Royal Collection to the Victoria & Albert Museum since 1924.
References:
The Royal Collection box is illustrated in Jaffer, A., Furniture from British India and Ceylon: A Catalogue of the Collections in the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Peabody Essex Museum, Timeless Books, 2001, p. 291.
History of the Anglo-Indian Boxes: Beginning in the early part of the 18th century, Indian artisans made what came to be known as Anglo-Indian boxes for the English residents living in India, who eventually brought or sent them back to England. At the beginning of the 19th century, India began exporting these boxes commercially, although not in any significant numbers until the 1850s. People valued them so highly that manufacturers of tins copied the designs on them in the late 19th and early 20th century. Carved boxes often combined with Sadeli mosaic. The first two categories came from Vizagapatam in East India while the last two came from Bombay in West India. English traders discovered the rich woods and intricate workmanship of Indian artisans, so colonial government officials began to recognize the work of the Indian artists and craftsmen as a source for satisfying the need for furniture and boxes, which would both serve to enhance English households in India. This gave rise to the cabinetmaking workshops in Vizagapatam between Calcutta and Madras. Craftsmen made the first boxes to be decorated with Sadeli mosaic incised to give further definition to the decoration, directly inlaid into the wood. The shape of the early boxes was either sloping at the front with a flatter section at the back, reminiscent of English writing slopes, or rectangular. Artisans inlaid the borders with stylized floral scrolls and the centers with a single floral motif following a circular or oval symmetrical or asymmetrical pattern.