An Indian bone and ebony inlaid Vizagapatam rosewood document chest
India, Coromandel Coast, Masulipatnam, early 18th century
H. 11.6 x W. 48.1 x D. 32.6 cm
The interior with sections for pens, ink and sand containers, and 4 small drawers.
Many document boxes were needed by VOC officials, based in the many faraway trade posts of the Company all over Asia. They were obliged to regularly write communications about almost everything concerning trade and politics in their trade posts, in threefold and send these to the High Government in Batavia.
The design of inlaid scrolling vines and flowers is found in boxes made in the early 18th century for the Dutch in Masulipatnam. Later in the 18th century boxes commissioned by the British in Vizagapatam came increasingly to be veneered by sheets of engraved ivory covering the entire surface of the box, allowing for a quicker production than with individual inlays.
H. 11.6 x W. 48.1 x D. 32.6 cm
The interior with sections for pens, ink and sand containers, and 4 small drawers.
Many document boxes were needed by VOC officials, based in the many faraway trade posts of the Company all over Asia. They were obliged to regularly write communications about almost everything concerning trade and politics in their trade posts, in threefold and send these to the High Government in Batavia.
The design of inlaid scrolling vines and flowers is found in boxes made in the early 18th century for the Dutch in Masulipatnam. Later in the 18th century boxes commissioned by the British in Vizagapatam came increasingly to be veneered by sheets of engraved ivory covering the entire surface of the box, allowing for a quicker production than with individual inlays.
