A Magnificent Mughal or Indo-Portuguese Ivory and Wood Inlaid Cabinet, Gujarat or Sind, India/Pakistan, Late 16th/Early 17th Century

of rectangular form, with, in the centre, a pair of doors opening to reveal four registers of drawers with two long at the bottom, four single at the top, two double and four single in the middle decorated in sadeli with inlaid natural and stained ivory rosettes and floral scrolls with bifoliate sprigs, the inner doors of large eight-pointed star and disc design, two registers of external drawers, one long and two short, the exterior decorated throughout with large cartouches and roundels inlaid in an assortment of exotic hardwoods with hemispherical brass studs, pierced lock plates and handles, the carved wooden canopy of multi-arched form supported by four cylindrical posts, standing on later sledge-form feet

in very good condition, minor scratches and vertical cracks to the rear board associated with age, as viewed
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This cabinet is one of the finest of its kind, a tour de force of the art of sadeli (known in Persia as khatamkari) or micro-mosaic work. This complex technique involves the setting of minute pieces of ivory, ebony and other exotic woods into a prepared ground, and is characteristic of a group of cabinets manufactured in Sind and Gujarat from the mid-16th century onwards following the introduction of the micro-mosaic technique to Sind from Shiraz, a notable Persian centre of production (Jaffer 2001, p.313). 

In 1626 in Tatta, Sind, Francesco Pelsaert noted that "Ornamental desks... and similar goods are manufactured locally in large quantities; they are very prettily inlaid with ivory and ebony..." (quoted in Jaffer 2002, p.18), whilst in the 1680s James Ovington wrote that the port city of Surat in Gujarat was a source of numerous "Desks, scutores, and boxes neatly polisht and embellisht". By the late-18th century a large industry for the production of complex inlay decoration as seen here had been established in Bombay, mainly catering for European tastes.

A table cabinet with similar inlaid decoration is in the Victoria and Albert Museum (Jaffer 2002, p.19). The V&A's cabinet is decorated with sadeli roundels and diamonds alongside areas filled with slender scrollwork in inlaid ivory. The interior doors of a table stand in the Victoria and Albert Museum (ibid. p.31, no.8) display almost identical stellar designs to the current lot with a central roundel bordered by a band of arcaded palmettes enclosing a micro-mosaic stellar medallion on a scroll ground.  Jaffer argues for a date around 1600 based on analogues in miniature painting of the period.

The precision and delicacy of the inlay procedure makes objects of this kind highly susceptible to the vicissitudes of ageing.  It is therefore all the more remarkable to find such an outstanding example which has survived in excellent condition.