Mid 1800's Anglo-Indian Ebony Carved Chairs- Set of 6

Description

We acquired these beautifully carved Indian ebony Anglo-Indian chairs a number of years ago, and have enjoyed them immensely. We … more We acquired these beautifully carved Indian ebony Anglo-Indian chairs a number of years ago, and have enjoyed them immensely. We are now ready to share their beauty and uniqueness with someone else who will appreciate and cherish them as much as we have. There are many carved symbols of both England and Scotland as well as their country of origin. Depicted on the chair back is the English crest with a rampant Lion (representing England) and a rampant Unicorn (representing Scotland). There are nicely carved thistles at the top of the front legs just above the carved elephant heads, and on either side of the English crest on the chair back uprights. The carved elephant heads on the 2 front legs, of course, was India's cultural symbol for centuries. Originally, all the elephants had 2 white tusks and 2 tiny white eyes. All of the elephants still have, at least, 1 complete tusk remaining, and on 2 of the elephants have both tusks intact. Below the elephant busts, at the base of the front chair legs are lovely carved lion's paw, seemingly to signify the fact that England, as the Lion, supports the weightiness of all her far reaching domain. Finally, all the chairs have cane seats, with one having been replaced by a 3rd generation expert caner. The other 5 chairs vary in their condition but all are still very strong and should last quite awhile, yet. The chairs have been expertly constructed without nails or screws with all the joints being held together with round ebony wooden pegs. One exceptional quality about the use of Ebony is that from a distance it looks uniformly black, but upon closer inspection, especially in a well lit setting, brown streaks appear only adding to their exotic and unique appearance. less