Evolution of the Indo-Portuguese furniture and the manufacture of a typical chest

BACIC PosterAuthor: Maja Bačić
Mentor: Joško Bogdanović, Teaching Assistant

Department of Art and Restoration, University of Dubrovnik (Croatia)
Study programme: Second-Cycle Master's Programme in Conservation-Restoration
Specialization: Conservation-restoration of wood (graduated 2019/2020)

Abstract
This poster presents the analysis of the Indo-Portuguese furniture that appeared as a result of the two cultures merging during the Portuguese colonization of the Indian subcontinent. It shows the evolution of Indo-Portuguese furniture, as well as specific forms, materials, techniques, tools, and decorative motives used, focusing on the furniture used for storage i.e. chests. They are the result of a unique hybridism contained in Western models taken to the East (used as prototypes) and native chests (mostly from Goa and Gujaratis) with their exotic materials, local techniques, and Indian aesthetics. The making of a chest with the typical form and decoration is also presented.

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BACIC Maja mShort biography
MAJA BAČIĆ was born in 1995 in Rijeka, Croatia. In 2020 she graduated from the University of Dubrovnik with a master’s degree in Conservation and Restoration (specialized in wooden artefacts). During her studies she worked as a conservator-restorer for the Croatian Conservation Institute – Department for Wall Paintings and Mosaics in Rijeka, and gained experience in wood conservation-restoration as an Erasmus trainee at Instituto Palazzo Spinelli in Florence, Italy (2019) and Instituto Politécnico de Tomar, Portugal (2020). She currently works on conservation-restoration of (underwater) archaeological finds as an intern at the International Centre for Underwater Archaeology in Zadar.