Interesting bone inlaid and ebony veneered table with late 16th Century Indo-Portuguese panels

This interesting hybrid table appears to be of Iberian form, but closer inspection reveals that the top is made of bone inlaid ebony panels that have been made in India under Portuguese patronage. Panels of identical design can be seen on boxes known to have been made in Gujarat, datable to the late 16th Century. A box of with similar cartouche decoration was recently with Amir Mohtashemi (stock no. A3954).

The form of this table, with its trestle ends joined by a central stretcher and shaped feet is most unusual. A typical Spanish table of the 17th/18th Century period would be joined by iron bracing bars; however, this example is atypically reinforced by an H-stretcher. The table legs appear to be constructed from ebony with a thin decorative line inlay, consistent with the top. The outline of the ogee arch motif from the top panels is repeated in the shape of the curved feet, when viewed from the side. The legs join the table via relatively large horizontal blocks at either end, the join being reinforced with glue.

An interesting comparable, held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (acc. no: 780-1865) has been attributed to a group of furniture made in 17th Century India for Portuguese patrons. Unfortunately, there is little evidence to enable the discovery of the workshops, but the group clearly borrows European fashionable designs whilst adding distinctive Indian elements, such as the geometric designs, exotic animals and, in this case, the unusual shape of the foot.