A LACQUERED GOLD AND POLYCHROME-PAINTED TABLE CABINET MADE FOR THE WESTERN EXPORT MARKET
Possibly Rajasthan or Northern India, mid-18th to mid-19th century

Of rectangular shape, resting on four rounded wooden feet, painted in polychromes and gilt against a bright red lacquered ground, the top and side panels of the exterior decorated with lush vegetal stems or stylised miniature trees with blossomed rosettes and pointy leaves, the design reminiscent in style of pietra dura panels in Agra, the slope on the front decorated with a similar vegetal motif livened with two pairs of artists, a male juggler and female drummer playing the dhol on the interior, and a lute or veena player together with a female flutist on the exterior, their attires typical of the Northern and North-Western regions of India, the interior divided in six drawers of different sizes with rounded bone knobs, 19cm x 29cm x 20cm.