A rare late 17th century sissoo Indian cabinet made for the European market. © 2012 MALLETT ANTIQUES

lavishly decorated on all sides with engraved ivory floral ornament. The doors open to reveal numerous drawers, each decorated with inlaid ivory Moghul figures. The cabinet is supported on a George I mahogany stand. The cabinet, India, Gujarat or Sindh, circa 1680. The stand, England, circa 1730. Height 24.5cm / 9 ¾ in. Width 39cm / 15 ½ in. Depth 28.5cm / 11 ¼in. Height with stand 94cm / 37 in. 

Cabinets with a similar decorative composition are commonly attributed to Gujarat or Sindh, notably on the basis of contemporary accounts from European travellers to India. According to the Dutch merchant Francisco Pelsaerts, Tatta, Sindh, was in 1626 a centre of manufacture for 'ornamental desks, writing cases (…) very prettily inlaid with ivory and ebony' and Surat, Gujarat, according to James Ovington was a source of 'Desks, Scutores and Boxes neatly polisht and embellisht' in the late 1680's. Large quantities of these wares were sent to Goa and then to Europe. http://www.mallettantiques.com

Literature - Amin Jaffer, Luxury Goods from India, London, Victoria & Albert Museum, 2002.