Bombay furniture

also: blackwood furniture · Bombay blackwood furniture

movement 19th-early 20th century Bombay India

'Bombay' or 'blackwood' furniture is a class of carved furniture made in Bombay (Mumbai) and the towns of Surat and Ahmedabad from the early nineteenth century, when a handful of workshops supplied the colonial market and, later, the wider Indian Ocean world. Built from shisham or blackwood (Dalbergia), a hard dark timber that takes a fine natural polish, the pieces graft intricate Indian carving onto European - often Dutch - models: lounge chairs, flower stands, small tables and ornamental stands. The best carving is lace-like, its detail adapted to each article, while boxes are inlaid in geometrical patterns of sandalwood, sappanwood, ebony, ivory and stag horn. Parsi shopkeepers ran the workshops; craftsmen from Gujarat and Kutch passed designs from father to son.

'Bombay Lounge Chair'. Made from Indian teak, these chairs were used in station waiting rooms, restaurants and clubs! - Indoor Gallery, Nair
'Bombay Lounge Chair'. Made from Indian teak, these chairs were used in station waiting rooms, restaurants and clubs! - Indoor Gallery, NairCC BY 2.0 (credit: Bharat) · source

Defining characteristics

  • Hard, dark shisham or blackwood with a deep natural polish
  • European (often Dutch) furniture shapes overlaid with intricate Indian carving
  • Lace-like openwork carving, its detail adapted to each piece's purpose
  • Geometrical inlay of sandalwood, sappanwood, ebony, ivory and stag horn

Sources

← Back to the catalog