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$4,500
An exceptional and highly decorative Anglo-Indian hand-painted teak coffee table, handcrafted in Rajasthan, India, during the early 20th century, circa 1920s–1940s. The table is distinguished by its unusual 12-sided architectural form, with each facet framed as an individual painted panel. The twelve panels are decorated with different Indian figural and courtly scenes, including elegantly dressed figures rendered against deep burgundy grounds. No two panels are identical, allowing the table to be appreciated from every direction. The richly colored polychrome decoration combines deep wine red, burgundy, dark green, black, ochre and gilt-toned accents, producing the layered, atmospheric appearance associated with traditional Rajasthani painted furniture. Delicate floral ornament surrounds and separates the narrative panels, while contrasting borders emphasize the table's geometric dodecagonal construction. Above the painted body is a solid wood tabletop finished in a deep wine-red tone. The perimeter is surrounded by an elaborate raised gallery composed of repeated carved leaf-shaped elements, pierced openings and turned architectural finials. The gallery gives the table an almost pavilion-like silhouette and makes the piece as sculptural as it is functional. Raised on multiple short turned feet, the table measures approximately 18.5 inches high to the solid tabletop and 23.5 inches high to the upper finials, with an overall diameter of approximately 37 inches. The substantial 37-inch diameter makes it an excellent central coffee table for a living room, library or sitting area. It may be enjoyed exactly as designed with its solid painted top, or a custom glass top may be placed above the gallery to create a larger and completely level usable surface while preserving visibility of the elaborate carved and painted structure beneath. Handcrafted in Rajasthan, the table reflects the cross-cultural decorative vocabulary generally described as Anglo-Indian or Anglo-Raj, combining Indian woodworking and painted ornament with a furniture form intended for sophisticated domestic interiors. The aged polychrome surface is particularly appealing. Rather than appearing newly refinished, the table retains the variations, rubbing and mellowing expected from an early 20th-century handcrafted object.
