Details

Object type

stool; hatru faichi gundi

Place Associated

Asia, South East Asia, Maldives (place found)

Materials

wood, lacquer

Dimensions

overall: 195 mm x 305 mm x 310 mm 942 g

Description

This painted wooden stool is part of a collection of 155 objects from the Maldives given to Glasgow Museums by John Stanley Gardiner in 1900. At the time the Maldives have been an Islamic Sultanate since 1153 with the Sultan acknowledged as the source of all power and law. This stool was described by Gardiner as a seat for officials in to use in the presence of the Sultan of the Maldives, then Sultan Haji Muhammad Imaaduddeen VI.

It is one of seven stools in the 1900 Maldivian collection and the only one to have been lacquered. The stool has a round seat on four low bowed legs. The seat has been lacquered with a circular design of red and black resin. The Maldivian tradition of Lacquer work or Laajehun is centuries old and was probably introduced to the islands from China. It was an important export to India and Sri Lanka from at least the 17th century. Lacquered objects were generally decorated in yellow, red and black. This stool is unusual in that only two colours are used. Wood turning was also an important traditional skill as many tools were made using this technique. Today, lacquer work is produced only on Thulhaadhoo Island on Baa atoll.

ID Number

1900.176.dg

Location

In storage