Victorian Field Dressing Table with Secret Drawer, 1860

Description

Anglo-Indian box, field dressing table with secret drawer, Victorian era, circa 1860 - Burma

Charming Anglo-Indian country dressing table, of … more Anglo-Indian box, field dressing table with secret drawer, Victorian era, circa 1860 - Burma

Charming Anglo-Indian country dressing table, of Burmese origin, in Mandalay teak wood. These types of boxes were made for British military officers stationed in Burma and India during the time of British rule. In the early 18th century, Indian craftsmen made what became known as Anglo-Indian boxes for English residents living in India, who ended up taking or shipping them to England. In the early 19th century, India began exporting these boxes, although not in significant quantities until the 1850s. People valued them so much that even English tin makers copied their designs in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. These exotic boxes were manufactured and retailed in Madras and Calcutta by the English and Dutch East India Companies.

The interior is equipped with numerous storage solutions, small compartments and drawers, even a “secret” drawer. The central module is removable, giving access to the main register, with greater storage capacity. Inside, the lid houses a small shaving mirror in its center, flanked by two other smaller ones. As ornamentation on the outside, it has brass and gilded bronze inlays, with finely worked filigrees forming decorative motifs. Handles on the sides for transport.

Materials: Mandalay teak wood, bronze, brass, mirror
Period: End of the 19th century, around 1860
Country of origin: Burma
Good condition according to its age and use / Minor flaws that do not interfere with the overall vision of the whole
Overall dimensions: 23 x 54 x 34 cm. less