λ A 19TH CENTURY INDIAN ROSEWOOD IVORY AND BONE STATIONERY SECRETAIRE POSSIBLY GUJARAT

λ A 19TH CENTURY INDIAN ROSEWOOD IVORY AND BONE STATIONERY SECRETAIRE

POSSIBLY GUJARAT, DATED '1842'

inlaid with scrolling leaves and flowers, the revolving top with moulded edges and a hinged lid inset with a central rondel inscribed 'Lt. Gen, H. Gough 1842', revealing a fitted interior with a hinged and velvet lined writing surface to the underside and with lidded compartments, with open divisions, two secret drawers and a lift-out tray revealing an engraved bone plaque with the East India Company's balemark: a heart surmounted by the number '4 'and the initials 'E I C', the stem with a spindle turned gallery above a carved shaft on a gadrooned base with scroll feet, the sides with detachable candle sconces

78.8cm high, 47.3cm wide

Catalogue Note

Field Marshall Hugh Gough, 1st Viscount Gough (1779-1869),. was a senior British Army officer who played prominent roles in the Peninsular War and in India. After serving as commander-in-chief of the British forces in China during the First Opium War, he became commander-in-chief in India and led actions against the Marathas and the Sikhs. He became a baronet on 1st December 1842, the year inscribed on this secretaire.