This formal cabinet is made of two independent yet complementary parts: a box that fits into a cabinet holder with feet.
The cabinet holder consists of a crotch-frame, support-height table with two drawers with enclosure. The latter is embellished with a large frieze carved with arabesque motifs. This type of carved and pierced ornamentation is also common – if not characteristic – of furniture crafted on the Coromandel coast. Golden brass rosettes mark the centre of these windings.
The drawers with drop handles in chiselled and gilded brass can be locked. They feature motifs of Hindu mythological figures, half bird (Hamsa) half lion (Yali), inspired by the fantastic bestiary of South India which gained interest again under the Nayak dynasties in Tamil Nadu in the 17th century.