British Colonial Teakwood Campaign Desk
Mid 19th centurySGD 4,350
A rare brass mounted British colonial campaign desk in teakwood. The top of the table can be opened to reveal an interior with several compartments and a writing surface. Underneath the writing surface more storage space including two small hidden drawers. There are also tree lidded storage compartments and one with sliding lids. The inside of the top features compartments for paper storage. This very elegant table stands on turned and tapered legs, which, for ease of transport, can be unscrewed from the table.
Campaign furniture, or “knock down” furniture, is a type of furniture made specifically for travel. Much of it was made for military campaigns and was designed in such a way that it could be easily disassembled, packed and carried on the march. Although this type of furniture has been in use in basic form for thousands of years, it was the British during the 18th and early 19th century who really took it to a new level of luxury and ingenuity.
A British gentleman abroad in the 18th and 19th centuries was a magnificently high–maintenance fellow. An officer of the British army demanded the same amenities while under canvas on military campaign in India or Africa as in his London club or country house. Essential baggage included the furniture that would be found in his drawing room and bedroom back home, but in “knocked-down” form. So, when in camp, he made sure that he enjoyed the same level of comfort as he was accustomed to back at home. The finest British and local furniture makers produced for this new class of traveller some of the most stylish pieces of portable furniture ever made.
Find out more about Campaign Furniture.
The desk is in good condition and has been lovingly restored and finished to its former glory using a traditional form of French polishing and waxing. The Burma teak wood that this piece has been made of has a warm colour and an attractive, straight grain.
Calcutta
British colonial India
H: 84 cm W: 92 cm D: 60 cm
H: 33” W: 36” D: 23½”
