 It is said that
the sparsely furnished Indian mansions and palaces visited by early Europeans inspired
them to start the era of grand furniture design in India. In the beginning, the Portuguese
commissioned copies of their furniture, followed inevitably by the French and the British.
In 19th century southern India, heavy furniture of densely carved ebony started inhabiting
royal households. This was eventually replaced by Rosewood, as ebony became rare. Walnut
furniture started to flourish in Kashmir, while in the havelis of Rajasthan and Gujarat
one can see even today, some of the most fabulous creations in wood, white metal and even
silver. The antique look of these furniture are very sought after, leading to fabrications
of new products on these designs.
 At
the IHE one would not only find the hand-crafted replicas of these designs but also some
original pieces sourced from Jaipur, Jodhpur, Udaipur and other parts of Rajasthan.
Amongst this unique collection swings an antique jhulla (swing) made of Ebony wood,
intricately carved and detailed. A silver chair, sourced from Udaipur also sits very
grandly at the IHE museum.
Rosewood furnitures and boxes in display at the IHE stand
out for their detailed inlay work, depicting nature, plants and animals and human figures. |
