A rare matching pair of semi-circular fanlights made from reverse painted panels of stained glass. Mounted in a teak frame retaining its original orange polychromy. Crafted in Belgium and exported for use in the incredible mansions of Chettinad, Tamil Nadu. 105cm x 54cm (41.3 x 21.2 inches) Circa 1880
The central design of Acanthus leaves is beautifully rendered in bright, jewel-like tones of green against an intensely cobalt blue background. The form and detail of the leaves and flowers are further delineated with hand painted detail at the backs of each piece of glass. Framed with an inner border of reverse painted leaves and flowers and an outer border of pressed tangerine coloured glass panels. Both panels present beautifully and could be used as fanlights over a door as intended or simply displayed as art. They make great lights in their own right if displayed with a lamp placed behind them.
Arched stained glass panels like these were used extensively both internally and externally and are a defining feature of traditional Chettinad mansions, representing a brilliant cross-cultural fusion of European luxury and native Tamil architecture.
The Chettinad mansions were built by the illustrious Chettiar merchant community from the middle of the 19th century to the 1950's across the state of Tamil Nadu. As the British colonies stretched across Asia in the 19th century, the Chettiars followed, sailing to Burma, Malaya, Ceylon and Singapore. Their ventures abroad yielded immense wealth, which they sent back to Chettinad. Ships laden with Burmese teak, Italian marble, English tiles and Belgian glass docked at Nagapattinam port, from where they were carried by bullock carts over dusty plains to transform Chettinad.*
Condition: One panel is in better condition than the other (the top panel in our lead image). There are a couple of cracked panels on this one but they appear to have been fixed, there is no rattle or risk of any glass coming loose. The putty keeping the individual pieces of glass in place may have been updated since it was originally made, it all feels very solid and useable. The second panel is missing a lot of the original putty and the central glazed panel bows inward slightly. The outer edge of the lead frame is warped, leaving a gap in places between the glass and the inner edge of the wooden frame at the top. Having said that, there is only one piece of glass that actually rattles, it does generally feel very solid still. There are a couple of cracked pieces of glass, but again these are contained within the lead and are secure. Both pieces rest on a narrow platform of wood at the back and can stand alone unaided. On the second piece this platform has losses at either end. Please see additional images and video here
*From the Guardian article “The lost mansions of Chettinad” See here for further information about the history of these fascinating homes and the people who built them. There’s a great blog here too that talks specifically about the use of glass in Chettinad.
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