India, a set if six chairs, Bombay Presidency, 1860-70

A rare set of six carved and pierced dark hardwood Anglo Indian chairs. Each of the rounded backs is carved and pierced with scrolling foliage, the centre with a oval encircling an errected beast, surmounted by two lions. The back rests on scrolled supports punctuated with foliage. The drop-in seat is upholstered in a vintage Lelièvre fabric and is framed by a seat guard of carved and pierced alternating leaves and berries. It is surrounded by a deep apron carved in the manner of the back, the serpentine-shaped front with a lion’s head at centre, a lion head in the center of each side and ram heads at the front corners above the legs. The front legs are restrained cabriole, and terminate on peg feet. The rear legs, of square section, are moderately raked outwards and are simply engraved.

A set of chairs of this type furnished the Duke and Duchess Teck's Saloon at Kensington Palace and is depicted there in a photograph of 1871. You can see in in the book by Amin Jaffer Furniture from British India and Ceylon: A Catalogue of the Collections in the V & A and the Peabody Essex Museum . Related chairs are in the Patriarchal Palace, Altinho, Goa.

88 x 47 x 47 cm approx.