Rajasthani wedding chest in carved wood with chased fittings - 19th century

This 19th-century Indian chest from Rajasthan is the perfect embodiment of the handcrafted, sacred soul of the Indian kingdoms. Made of solid wood, it rests on four turned legs and features richly engraved decoration on each side, punctuated by delicate geometric and vegetal friezes deeply incised into the material.
The whole is reinforced and enhanced by large, finely chiselled wrought-iron fittings, whose design echoes the wood motifs. The central handle, also engraved, seems to pose a secret question to whoever dares lift the lid.
The lid is adorned with centered sun circles, veritable radiating mandalas evoking both protection and fertility. This symmetrical, almost sacred arrangement, and the regularity of the proportions, exude a balance close to the golden ratio - as if the object had been designed to contain not only fabrics or ornaments, but also a spiritual breath.
Probably a wedding chest, it could have held offerings, precious textiles or symbols of union in a princely desert dwelling. Today, it radiates a warm presence, its amber patina catching the light like a living skin.

In a minimalist interior with white walls, it becomes sculpture. In an antique library, it seems to guard the secrets of a forgotten grimoire.

This chest is a word of wood, a talisman in space, a guardian of memory.
It never quite opens: what it contains belongs to those who know how to listen to the silence. Where the lines of wood and iron meet, an invisible offering continues to burn.

Dimensions:
Length: 47.5 cm
Depth: 34.5 cm
Height: 22.5 cm

Ref: CP1HWQ17FK