Rare and important teak dowry chest in Mughal design

Dowry chests,refered in India as ‘Damchiya’ or ‘Dhamchiya’ is what was an Indian, were most commonly used in Indian states of Rajasthan and Gujarat, these furniture pieces were used as hope chests to store a bride’s dowry and after the wedding, these were used for storing valuables.

This particular Damchiya is a very unusual example of Mughal design as some of the decorative geometrical patterns are in “Mudejar” design which is the Spanish Mughal design that formed in Spain during the Spanish Caliphate of Córdoba.

Indian chests and boxes come in an extraordinary variety of styles reflecting the many cultures that influenced India over centuries, every chest tells a loving story and each and every piece can be used as blanket boxes or coffee tables.