A carved and ivory-inlaid table, Nagina, India, 19th century

the top of rounded form with foliate edge carved and inlaid with ivory and silver with a central hexagonal silver openwork medallion encircled by an ivory inlaid palmette band surrounded by carved ebony floral arcades bordered by major and minor ivory inlaid and silver floral and palmette bands, the three turned legs carved with further floral decoration inlaid with ivory 



 

Nagina is a town in the Bijnor District  of the United Provinces in Eastern India. It was originally thought that the art of carving ebony in Nagina originated from the Multani artisan who settled in the area in the seventeenth century, however this theory was later questioned when a nineteenth century date was suggested as more probable. Records indicate that articles were included in the Great Exhibition of 1851 and carved boxes were often sent to Delhi, where they were mounted with locally produced ivory miniatures. (Please see Jaffer 2001, pp.264-266 for a further discussion of this group).