With ebony edges and inlaid with ivory piping. The lid and box with brass fittings and inlaid with floral marquetry of ebony and ivory.
India, Vizagapatam ca.1700-1725.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, Vizagapatam was a port town on the Coromandel Coast of South East India and a hub of trade between Europe and Western Europe. It became a fixed point in the trade routes of the VOC and the HEIC (Honorable East India Company). An industry in making furniture and other utensils developed there, in a Western flavour. An interaction between East and West developed. This document box is an example of this. The simple inlay work of tendrils with leaves and flowers is to European taste. Made in the early 18th century, c. 1700-1725, mainly for the Dutch administrators of the VOC to store documents and send them to their headquarters in Batavia.
Literature: Jaffer, A. Furniture from British India and Ceylon: a catalogue of the collections of the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Peabody Essex Museum. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 2001. ISBN 1 85177 318 5.pp.176-188, pl.32-39.
