Picture Details
Ebony tea caddy
Partner:
Victoria and Albert MuseumImage reference:
01198:1 to 4/(IS)Origin:
Munger (Monghyr), IndiaArtist / Date:
Unknown, c. 1867Size:
H 110 x W 210 x D 125 mmDescription:
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This solid ebony tea caddy has ivory inlay. It is typical of a type of fancy cabinet ware made during the 19th century at Monghyr, a town situated on the River Ganges. Travellers on the river route from Calcutta to Delhi commonly stopped at Monghyr and were an easy market for the town's craftworkers. They were skilled at working wood, ivory and various metals and approached river-going vessels with samples of their work.
When the railways opened up from 1855 onwards, travellers stopped calling at Monghyr, and the production of novelty cabinet ware disappeared.
