An Indo-portuguese inlaid cabinet, Goa, India, 17th century

of rectangular form with drop front revealing eight panels with six drawers each with openwork brass rosette handles, decorated with  rosewood marquetry and ivory inlay, the exterior front, sides and top with confronting dragons with striped bodies and spotted tails, surrounded by scroll borders with confronting birds, the back with a quatrefoil medallion and palmette scrolls to the interstices, the interior front with a rosette medallion with foliate concentric bands bordered by further roundels, twisted loop handles to one side, back plate of lock

Lockplate to front is missing with associated wood infill, loss to handle on side, wood split to the back and associated repair, 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."

The style of the inlay with the paired dragon and bird motifs and the brass openwork handles conform to a group of cabinets and chests made in Goa for the Portuguese market during the seventeenth century. Jaffer has noted stylistic affinities with fitted chests and cabinets in the new Sacristry of the Basilica of Bom Jesus, Old Goa; these purpose-built fittings must have been made in Goa or the surrounding region and were installed between 1654 and 1698. (Jaffer 2002, pp.56-7, no.21).

A number of comparable seventeenth-century inlaid pieces include a cabinet in the Victoria and Albert Museum (ibid. p.56), a chest in the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon (Bordeaux 1998, p.45, fig.6) and a scribe's box in a private collection in Portugal (Dias 2002, p.60). The twinned birds have been identified as the heraldic eagles of Goa, or the mythological jatayu, king of the vultures in the Ramayana (Jaffer 2002, p.57).