Chettiar pillar

This pillar comes from the courtyard of an old house in the Chettinad region of Tamilnadu, south India. The pillar measures nine feet tall. It features a stone base and capitals, carved with inverted or drooping lotus petal-like designs which tapers at the top. The surface of the pillar is smooth and heavily polished.During the 19th-20th centuries, local wood and teak shipped from Burma and other regions of Southeast Asia were popular when Chettiar merchants worked and lived abroad, who would send money and materials home to build mansions. A typical Chettiar home is a combination of local Tamil construction style and European design and decorative elements.

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Teak door from a Chettiar house

A Chettiar loan form

A Chettiar loan form

A Chettiar loan form