This ivory veneered cabinet is elaborately decorated with architectural scenes of buildings and pavilions with trees, occasionally with European figures standing nearby. Floral borders surround the decorative panels. It is a miniature version of an English bureau-cabinet, which were typically used for writing and storing documents. Scaled down versions like this were probably used as display pieces and to store personal effects. It was made in Vizagapatam, a port on the Coromandel Coast which was known for producing fine examples of inlaid bureau-bookcases, toilet mirrors, chairs and various types of boxes, as well as textiles. The fine harbour and a textile-producing workshops attracted European settlement and introduced a demand locally for western-style furniture. This furniture was also exported, particularly to England.
