A Dutch-colonial ebony armchair with low-relief carving
Sri Lanka or Coromandel Coast, circa 1650
H. 74 x W. 54 x D. 47.5 cm / H. 35.5 cm (seat height)
This chair is an exceptional fine example of shallow carving of flowers and curling leaves, and open carving of the Hamsa pũṭṭuva ‘sacred goose or swan’ a Singhalese ornament of Hinduism, in poetry standing for beautiful girls and the breast of women. This type of chair belongs to the earliest chairs imported into Batavia while all efforts were still focussed on building the city and there not yet was a furniture industry in Batavia.
H. 74 x W. 54 x D. 47.5 cm / H. 35.5 cm (seat height)
This chair is an exceptional fine example of shallow carving of flowers and curling leaves, and open carving of the Hamsa pũṭṭuva ‘sacred goose or swan’ a Singhalese ornament of Hinduism, in poetry standing for beautiful girls and the breast of women. This type of chair belongs to the earliest chairs imported into Batavia while all efforts were still focussed on building the city and there not yet was a furniture industry in Batavia.
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