Indian Style Furniture for The Home
Indian crafts has always enjoyed a fame that has prompted much respect as the looting in the old days. Whether they work in temples made of stone or simple items, terracotta figurines, jewelry pieces, woodwork or graphic and plastic art, the artisans of this country have always been acclaimed by beauty experts. Sometimes, however, this fixation on beauty sacrificed utility and comfort – this trend resulted in a meticulous embellishments and complicated creations such as wooden thrones, for example, that would have given goose bumps, but also would have fouled back.
Local tradition and culture contribute to the development of more remote ornamental wood crafts – to the palaces, temples, taverns, art works, etc – but did not generate any type of furniture utility class to which we the inhabitants of the modern world we are accustomed. A big reason for this was that they ate mainly in the floor, and sat and rested on charpoys (simple string beds with pitchforks). The main thrust for the development of the furniture was given by foreign influence.When the Portuguese, the first Europeans came to India, found no family furniture. They, and later, Dutch, French and English, who inspired the composition of household furniture as they knew. Carpentry veered india adapting foreign designs and mixing them with a taste of Indian crafts. Thus, as mentioned by Joseph Butler in an article in the Encyclopedia Britannica, “the place of India in the history of furniture is an adapter or transformer of the styles of the West, instead of an independent creator.” It was the play of these influences that gave birth to the Mughal style, the Goanese, Indo-Dutch style, the use of ebony and ivory in the style of Chippendale and Sheraton.
The 18th-century English dominance resulted in a British influence in the style of furniture, and this became so popular that even the Indian rulers became patterns (this recent trend could simply be a reflection of the anglosajonización of rulers, their desire to identify with the ruling class). In the 19th century, the decoration took precedence, divorcing again the utility.
Being a tropical country with about eighty varieties of hardwood available for the woodwork, India has a long tradition of furniture manufacturing. After the English influence that teak grew as a “real tree” to send to the industry (teak is extremely resistant to weather and water), teak became tremendously popular craft in wood quality. Almost all large items were made of wood. The royal houses and wealthy family groups have always been traditional sponsors of the furniture industry, and even today the royal palaces studded through the four corners of the characteristics of India are some of the most famous handicrafts in Indian wood. Illustrated History of Furniture (1893) by Frederick Litchfield mentioned many wonders that still fascinate. As the two teak wood doors shipped as a gift to the Indian Government and now held at the National Museum (in Kolkata). Or shisham wood (rosewood) sliced to the window ledge in Amritsar with outstanding ornamental arches with pillars and intricate work on the body. The real gifts sent to the Queen and the King, as well as Princes, also showed an obsession with detail that is unique to India. Even today, many of these units come from the British Royal India.
In the years since the British left the furniture industry in India, this has evolved. The usefulness and simplicity gained precedence over art. Price considerations have led to a reduction in the ornamentation to a minimum, and the cheaper varieties of wood have been used to care for the huge demand for low cost. Yet, in niche areas of furniture the old ways are still made in silence. In many places, such as Rajasthan, that silence has a real culture in the Republic of India, with its dozens of palaces, and the old way of making furniture is still preserved. Here, one can take a journey through time and discover the works of the past being made with the same experience. Exported around the world wherever you appreciate antique furniture and ornamental, furniture Jodhpur is the focal point of this industry. Today, foreign designs are adapted to local styles are hugely popular with customers in the West. Again we return to the days when designs were Portuguese amalgamation of European sensibilities inventiveness and craftsmanship in India.
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