 "Wood stalk")
A collector picked up an old, four-poster bed from Kolkata-based auction house Suman Exchange last year. Layers of dirt and dust settled on it over years of neglect had turned the surface rough and given the wood a deep tan, much like Burma teak. But when the collector scrapped the surface, a beautiful smooth wood, maroon and aged, revealed itself. It was mahogany. The man promptly called up Shiv Bakshi, the son of Suman Exchange's proprietor, and exclaimed in delight: "I have hit the jackpot!"
Bakshi understood why the collector was thrilled. Mahogany - that is, authentic mahogany, the kind that was used to make cabinets and beds in the days of the Raj - is hard to come by today. Rare, fine, expensive and with a rich air about itself, it is truly a collector's item. "Authentic mahogany furniture now reaches us only once or twice a year," says Arshad Salim, partner of one of Kolkata's oldest auction houses, Russell Exchange, that was born in 1940. "It comes from the grand old houses, the rajbaris, that belonged to the zamindars and the nawabs. That era is gone, those people are gone and so is most of their exquisite furniture."
But look a little harder and you might still find the real thing. One place worth checking out is the House of Mahendra Doshi Restorateurs which has stores in Walkeshwar and Wadala in Mumbai. The pioneer in restoring colonial furniture in India, the late Mahendra Doshi's legacy is now being carried forward by relatives, Asim and Chiki Doshi and Anand Gandhi. They have a respectable collection of mahogany furniture - "most of it procured from Kolkata," says Chiki Doshi.
These include cabinets, dining tables, library tables, card tables and sofas. This is unrestored, original mahogany. Restoration work is done only once the piece is sold. "That's because while some people want to retain the old look, others want it overhauled and polished to look new," says Chiki Doshi. "It takes four to six weeks to restore each piece of furniture, some of which, being so old, has been abused quite a bit," adds Gandhi. So, it has to be opened up, cleaned, refilled and polished - "treated like a human body," says Chiki Doshi. Some of the restored furniture which they currently have includes an office desk (Rs 60,000), console with marble top (Rs 125,000) and linen cabinet with ebony inlay and brass paw feet (Rs 250,000).
There's a good chance that some of the old Armenian furniture will bear a stamp of authenticity on it. "Even so, it's advisable to run it past someone who can tell one kind of wood from another," says Gandhi. But there is some stuff which the restorers say they would blindly buy - like anything from Kolkata's C Lazarus & Co, one of the finest cabinet makers known for exquisite furniture during the Raj. The company no longer exists but its name still causes a flutter in the world ruled by wood.
With each year that goes by, this limited supply of the original and the authentic shrinks. But there is hope yet. Mumbai and Delhi now have stores where reproductions of Louis XV and Louis XVI furniture are being sold. "Walnut and mahogany was the only wood used in that period," says Samit Tara, director of International Furniture Brands which has got Theodore Alexander and Althorp Living History, brands that recreate period furniture, to India. The sprawling store, by the Delhi-Gurgaon road, is stocked with classic mahogany furniture starting from about Rs 1 lakh for a chair and "going up to Rs 60 lakh," says Tara. In Mumbai, these pieces are available in Lower Parel and Worli.
There are foyer tables (about Rs 4 lakh), lamp tables with intricate copper carving (about Rs 3 lakh), chests (about Rs 3 lakh) and a very functional and classic partners' desk with curved draws, an Althorp trademark (Rs 14.72 lakh).
The Althorp creations are replicas of the 17th, 18th and 19th century furniture from the residence of Britain's aristocratic Spencer family - the childhood home of Princess Diana. Recreated in consultation with the current Earl Spencer, this furniture comes with a certificate of authenticity and carries the castle crest. Each piece is imported whole.
Recently, a truckload of these classic reproductions was sent off to Nagaland. The buyer did his entire house with them. A doctor in south Delhi's New Friend's Colony also bought this furniture for his living room and dining room. "The bill came to around Rs 1.8 crore," says an employee at the store.
Its fine and even grain makes mahogany relatively free of voids and pockets. The rare timber is very stable, easy to maintain, excellent for carving and does not shrink or expand. "The old pieces are also specimens of phenomenally good workmanship," says Gandhi. As the wood ages, it also becomes more valuable. Chiki Doshi says they "happily buy back restored mahogany furniture if the buyer, at any time, wishes to sell it."
Before you launch your mahogany quest, remember this: don't be taken in by people selling rosewood, jackwood or furniture made with mahogany veneer in the name of solid mahogany. Go only to the trusted names and keep in touch with old auction houses. It's getting tougher to come by, but the red treasure does, at times, land at their doorstep.
Why mahogany is coveted
In India, mahogany is usually grown in West Bengal and Bihar. But most of the good timber has been used up. Because the demand is high, the trees are cut young and not allowed to mature, thus affecting the quality of the wood.
There's also the African and South American mahogany. But overharvesting and illegal logging has plagued the industry, prompting countries to impose restrictions on their supply. As a result, some furniture manufacturers like IKEA have decided not to sell mahogany furniture. There is also the Philippine mahogany, which is, in fact, not real mahogany but lauan.
Bakshi understood why the collector was thrilled. Mahogany - that is, authentic mahogany, the kind that was used to make cabinets and beds in the days of the Raj - is hard to come by today. Rare, fine, expensive and with a rich air about itself, it is truly a collector's item. "Authentic mahogany furniture now reaches us only once or twice a year," says Arshad Salim, partner of one of Kolkata's oldest auction houses, Russell Exchange, that was born in 1940. "It comes from the grand old houses, the rajbaris, that belonged to the zamindars and the nawabs. That era is gone, those people are gone and so is most of their exquisite furniture."
But look a little harder and you might still find the real thing. One place worth checking out is the House of Mahendra Doshi Restorateurs which has stores in Walkeshwar and Wadala in Mumbai. The pioneer in restoring colonial furniture in India, the late Mahendra Doshi's legacy is now being carried forward by relatives, Asim and Chiki Doshi and Anand Gandhi. They have a respectable collection of mahogany furniture - "most of it procured from Kolkata," says Chiki Doshi.
These include cabinets, dining tables, library tables, card tables and sofas. This is unrestored, original mahogany. Restoration work is done only once the piece is sold. "That's because while some people want to retain the old look, others want it overhauled and polished to look new," says Chiki Doshi. "It takes four to six weeks to restore each piece of furniture, some of which, being so old, has been abused quite a bit," adds Gandhi. So, it has to be opened up, cleaned, refilled and polished - "treated like a human body," says Chiki Doshi. Some of the restored furniture which they currently have includes an office desk (Rs 60,000), console with marble top (Rs 125,000) and linen cabinet with ebony inlay and brass paw feet (Rs 250,000).
There's a good chance that some of the old Armenian furniture will bear a stamp of authenticity on it. "Even so, it's advisable to run it past someone who can tell one kind of wood from another," says Gandhi. But there is some stuff which the restorers say they would blindly buy - like anything from Kolkata's C Lazarus & Co, one of the finest cabinet makers known for exquisite furniture during the Raj. The company no longer exists but its name still causes a flutter in the world ruled by wood.
* * *
With each year that goes by, this limited supply of the original and the authentic shrinks. But there is hope yet. Mumbai and Delhi now have stores where reproductions of Louis XV and Louis XVI furniture are being sold. "Walnut and mahogany was the only wood used in that period," says Samit Tara, director of International Furniture Brands which has got Theodore Alexander and Althorp Living History, brands that recreate period furniture, to India. The sprawling store, by the Delhi-Gurgaon road, is stocked with classic mahogany furniture starting from about Rs 1 lakh for a chair and "going up to Rs 60 lakh," says Tara. In Mumbai, these pieces are available in Lower Parel and Worli.
There are foyer tables (about Rs 4 lakh), lamp tables with intricate copper carving (about Rs 3 lakh), chests (about Rs 3 lakh) and a very functional and classic partners' desk with curved draws, an Althorp trademark (Rs 14.72 lakh).
The Althorp creations are replicas of the 17th, 18th and 19th century furniture from the residence of Britain's aristocratic Spencer family - the childhood home of Princess Diana. Recreated in consultation with the current Earl Spencer, this furniture comes with a certificate of authenticity and carries the castle crest. Each piece is imported whole.
Recently, a truckload of these classic reproductions was sent off to Nagaland. The buyer did his entire house with them. A doctor in south Delhi's New Friend's Colony also bought this furniture for his living room and dining room. "The bill came to around Rs 1.8 crore," says an employee at the store.
Its fine and even grain makes mahogany relatively free of voids and pockets. The rare timber is very stable, easy to maintain, excellent for carving and does not shrink or expand. "The old pieces are also specimens of phenomenally good workmanship," says Gandhi. As the wood ages, it also becomes more valuable. Chiki Doshi says they "happily buy back restored mahogany furniture if the buyer, at any time, wishes to sell it."
Before you launch your mahogany quest, remember this: don't be taken in by people selling rosewood, jackwood or furniture made with mahogany veneer in the name of solid mahogany. Go only to the trusted names and keep in touch with old auction houses. It's getting tougher to come by, but the red treasure does, at times, land at their doorstep.
Why mahogany is coveted
In India, mahogany is usually grown in West Bengal and Bihar. But most of the good timber has been used up. Because the demand is high, the trees are cut young and not allowed to mature, thus affecting the quality of the wood.
There's also the African and South American mahogany. But overharvesting and illegal logging has plagued the industry, prompting countries to impose restrictions on their supply. As a result, some furniture manufacturers like IKEA have decided not to sell mahogany furniture. There is also the Philippine mahogany, which is, in fact, not real mahogany but lauan.