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Antique Anglo-Indian Boxes
Collectible Culture from the British Raj'
Nagina Because the iconic boxes of Nagina are made of ebony (or blackened wood masquerading as ebony), a few words are in order to clarify some popular misconceptions about this ebony wood. Ebony is the black heartwood of several species of trees of the genus Diospyros (family Ebenaceae), widely distributed in the tropics. The best is very heavy, almost black. Because of its color, durability, hardness, and ability to take a high polish, ebony is used for cabinetwork and inlaying, piano keys, knife handles, and turned articles. The best Indian and Ceylon ebony is produced by Diospyros ebenum which grows in abundance west of Trincomalee in Sri Lanka. Much of the East Indian ebony is yielded by the Coromandel ebony tree (D. melanoxylon). Diospyros melanoxylon is known as ‘abnoos’ in India. It grows in Coimratore, in the Bombay forests north of Canara, in Malabar and in Ganjam which lies on the East coast NE of Vizagapatam. The wood is hard and black and boxes are made of it. The fruit is edible. In the western antiques trade, coromandel and calamander are interchangeable but they are different tree species the latter being the calamander tree (D. quaesita) which produces an ebony wood of fine hazel-brown colour, mottled and striped with black. Centers of wood carving in Uttar Pradesh include Aligarh, Azamgarh, Nagina, Lucknow and Saharanpur. Nagina exhibits a graceful style of carving in ebony on many articles like tables, chairs, boxes, beds, etc. The motifs are mostly floral and sometimes geometrical. The place, Nagina always had a problem of transportation due to which the craftsmen made small decorative pieces as they became easier to carry. Nagina’s craft dates back 300 - 400 years to the Mughal times but with the shift in consumer base and low availability of real ebony, sheesham is now mostly used instead of ebony. The range of these finely carved pieces has moved towards simpler trinket boxes and small items such as combs. Nagina means "Jewel". This place was named by Syed Ghalib Ali who received this place as Gift from Mughals. He founded the city and built the Nagina Castle. Nagina in Uttar Pradesh, India is also known as 'Wood Craft City'. It has deeper and rich cultural impact on the art and craft traditions of India.
