his Victorian cupboard is indeed unique because it is structured Victorian and contains Gothic features as well in terms of details. The Victorian Age (1837-1901) was a time when the past was plundered for design ideas. A great eclectic mix of styles came together with influences including the Rococo, the Baroque, the Neoclassical and the Gothic. This royal piece of colonial furniture was once housed in the Victoria House in Calcutta. It’s hard to believe that all the Gothic pillars are manually carved. Yet, so very identical.

A decision of Lord Wellesley in 1798 to build a magnificent new government house in Calcutta in Bengal to represent British authority  n India.  The design he chose wasbased upon one of Robert Adam’s greatest neo-classical residences, Lord Valentia, who witnessed its inaugural ceremony said, “A noble structure, although not without faults in the architecture; and, upon the whole not unworthy of its destination.  and the sums expended upon it. India is a country of splendor, of extravagance and of outward appearances; that the Head of a mighty Empire (Wellesley) ought to conform himself to the prejudices of the country he

rules over…In short, I wish India to be ruled from a palace, not from a counting house; with the ideas of a Prince, not with those of a retail dealer in muslins and  indigo”. Lord Valentia’s remark only mirrors the Queen’s concern for the locals and their culture.

This Victorian cupboard was sourced in Orissa in 1998 and restored by Madras craftsmen and listed in The STEVE BORGIA INDIAN HERITAGE MUSEUM.