A fine katamkari bone- and silver-inlaid wood cabinet, Sind or Gujarat, circa 18th century

of rectangular form on turned feet with a hinged drop-front revealing five drawers each with turned knobs, the wood body inlaid with bone, silver and lac, decorated throughout with katamkari or sadeli panels, roundels and stars

This intact table cabinet is a fine example of the marquetry decoration (known in India as sadeli and in Persia as katamkari) associated with a group of cabinets manufactured in Sind and Gujarat.  They occur from the mid-sixteenth century following the introduction of the micromosaic technique to Sind from Shiraz, a notable Persian centre of production (Jaffer 2001, p.313).