Asian Side Chairs

An Indian ebony low chair formerly owned by the Duke of Westminster Coromandel coast, possibly Madras, 1680-1700 Overall densely carved with an array of mermaids, birds, fish, mythological figures and floral and vine motifs, the back-rails are centered by a parrot (the attribute of Kama, the Hindu god of love) below a scallop shell (an attribute of Aphrodite/Venus) with a fleur-de-lis (a symbol of the Virgin Mary), the shell supported by two small human figures and a pair of mermaids, another Western element, but also a representation of the Hindu snake goddess...