A fine Sri Lankan mãrã or East Indian walnut ‘Burgomaster’ chair

Galle district, late 18th or early 19th century

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H. 82.5 x W. 76 x D. 66 cm

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This Rococo-style burgomaster chair became very popular, first with the Dutch from the third quarter of the 18th century. Later with the English, after they had taken over Sri Lanka from the Dutch in the early 19th century, the popularity of this type of chair with the English could perhaps also be ascribed to the wrongly held view among early 19th-century English antiques dealers. They thought the round chair was an early English form, dating from the William and Mary period.