Indian furniture - a close up look at our low wooden tables.
People traditionally sit on the floor in many parts of India, maybe on a mat or carpet, and low tables and stools are a common feature of many homes. Like most household articles they are usually decorated in some way either with carving, painting or metalwork. Let's take a detailed look at some you can buy at from the Silk Road Gallery collection.
This carved low table with dark red lacquer and turned legs which has sold out was one of my favourites: teak coloured wood with simple hatched carving on the sides, wonderful short turned legs and translucent lacquer work in colours of black, yellow and crimson. In the background is a Tibetan thangka from our personal collection. Sitting on the table is a White Marble Lotus Bowl.
Octagonal Tables
This small octagonal table is really cute - who would think of putting 8 legs on such a small table! Indian craftsmen relish the opportunity to be creative and embellish whatever they can lay their hands on!
Shown with a couple of items in the background from our collection of vintage items from Afghanistan - part of a collection assembled in the 1970's - a Repousse Copper Kettle that your host would use to wash your hands between courses of a meal and an old Embroidered Afghan Wedding Shawl.
Here's another image of the Small Octagonal Table with a larger version in the background and a glimpse of one of our wonderful reversible Silk Kantha Scarves from Bengal.
Two Tables, a Parrot and a Lotus Bowl. Like the bowl, the Parrot is made from White Marble from Rajasthan.
The tables will be shortly be added to our Furniture and Mirrors collection.
Low Painted Table
This little painted vintage table is a beauty with all the delights that come from the near symmetry of a mandala. Rose coloured flowers and and sky blue buds emerge from curling sprigs of green leaves against a black background. In the corners simple red dots and arcs against a yellow background anchor the patterns and help to identify the frame of yellow and red lines that contain the floral painting in the centre.
In the next photo the table is standing on a gold silk runner from Laos.
This is the larger Octagonal Table we glimpsed in an earlier photo. Like the smaller Octagonal Table it also has the absurdly large number of 8 legs - but when you look at it, it's the only number that makes sense. If you had fewer legs where would you position them?
A strip of brass runs round the perimeter serving both a decorative and functional purpose. The marble bowl is available at the Gallery showroom.
Opium Table
I love the skill involved in making these elegant Opium Tables. Opium tables are a classic design found throughout south-east Asia, if you like the shape of the legs you might want to take a look at our Opium Bed which is based on the same design.
We also have the Opium Table which comes in a white washed finish. For a look at our larger tables, read our blog about Campaign and Occasional Tables.
