Indian Carved Panel – Chettinad, Tamil Nadu

This antique Indian carved panel in wood comes from the Chettinad region, in the state of Tamil Nadu, renowned for the richness of its traditional architecture and carved decoration.

Dimensions:

• L 78 cm x H 26 cm x D 3.5 cm
• Very dense, weight: 6.6 kg

Antique Indian Carved Wooden Panel

This carved panel features a dense composition combining stylized birds, floral motifs and scrollwork deeply carved into the wood. It could have belonged to a door lintel, a panel from a wealthy Chettinad residence, temple decoration, or an architectural ceiling element. It is crafted from Ceylon Satinwood (or East Indian Satinwood), an extremely dense wood highly resistant to both climate and pests.

The birds depicted are most likely Annam / Annapakshi, a regional variant of the Hamsa found in traditional South Indian ornamentation. In Indian culture, the Hamsa is a sacred mythical bird associated with Sarasvati, goddess of wisdom, knowledge and the arts. Depending on the representation, it may borrow characteristics from the swan, goose, peacock, or certain fantastical creatures from the Hindu decorative repertoire.

The pronounced relief of the carving accentuates the play of shadows and gives the panel a strong architectural presence. The wood retains irregularities, tool marks and surface variations consistent with antique hand-executed carving. The whole develops an almost graphic reading where vegetal forms and animal figures progressively merge in a continuous decorative movement.

These panels were part of a significant collection preserved for several decades in the reserves of Claude de Marteau, alongside Asian sculptures and architectural elements gathered throughout his research.

Carved panels found in the Claude de Marteau reserves