Large Showcase in Ivory Teak with Serpentine Cupboard Base

The top of this showcase is straight. The base beneath it waves in and out. Where the two meet is the hardest joint on the piece to get right, and it is a moulding rather than a joint that solves it.

A glazed section has to be straight-fronted, because glass is flat and doors must close on a straight line. A serpentine base is not straight anywhere. So the amount by which the upper section overhangs the base changes continuously across the width - a lot where the base returns backwards, almost nothing where it swells forward.

Left alone, that would show as an uneven shadow along the waist, thick at the ends and thin in the middle, and the eye reads an uneven shadow as a mistake even when it cannot say why.

The waist moulding is therefore worked to absorb it. Its projection is varied along its length - reduced where the base comes forward, increased where the base falls back - so that the shadow line under the glazed section stays the same depth from one end of the cabinet to the other.

It is drawn full size on the bench, cut in one continuous run, and checked by eye in raking light before it is fixed.

Material: solid teak in both carcasses, door frames, drawer boxes, crests, base and feet.

Configuration: two-part - four-bay glazed display section over a serpentine cupboard base, built separately and joined on site.

Display section: two centre doors with shaped heads, flanking glazed bays, glazed returns at the angled corners, glass shelves throughout.

Base: serpentine front, full-width drawer row under the display, cupboards below with carved lattice and painted panels, carved scroll feet.

Waist: continuous moulding with varied projection so the shadow line stays even across the width.

Carving: pierced centre crest with stepped shoulder crests, scrolled panel borders, carved lattice panels and shaped base rail.

Finish: ivory ground with hand-applied gold on carving, and painted detail on the base panels.

Made to order: width, height, depth, bay count, drawer and cupboard layout and finish are all customisable. Custom sizes made to order - final measurements confirmed in writing before production.

A wide cabinet is packed in more pieces than a narrow one, because every extra metre is another metre that can be caught on a corner.

The glazed doors and bay panes come out and travel crated flat, taped across the face and foam-sleeved individually. Glass shelves ship in a slotted box with dividers.

Both carcasses are wrapped in acid-free tissue directly against the ivory finish, then foam sheet, then bubble wrap, with rigid board over the long flat runs and extra padding at the serpentine base's forward points, which are the parts that project furthest.

The pierced crests - centre and both shoulders - are supported with foam pressed into their openings and boxed individually, as are the carved scroll feet.

Everything ships in hardwood crates with corner protection at every arris and clear orientation and lift markings. Multi-layer protective packaging is included with every order at no extra cost.

Delivery is free anywhere in India, with guaranteed dent-free arrival. No distance charge, no size charge, no handling fee, however wide the cabinet.

Production starts once your dimensions are confirmed in writing. We photograph your actual showcase as it goes - both carcasses, the waist moulding run and fitted, the carving, the ivory finish, the gilding and the glazing.

The two sections travel separately, which matters more on a piece this size than on any other cabinet we make. On site, our team sets and levels the base first across its whole length, places the display section onto it, hangs the doors, and fits the glass shelves last.

Send us lift dimensions, stair turns, doorway widths and the wall length before dispatch so the route and the final position can both be planned. Every photograph on this page is of the actual product, not a render.

A 20-year warranty covers the solid teak frame and joinery of both sections - the carcasses, the door frames, the drawer boxes, the serpentine base structure and every joint between them. On a cabinet this wide, that structure is what keeps the long horizontals straight, so it is the part guaranteed longest.

A lifetime warranty against termite damage runs with the piece and never expires. Teak's natural oils protect it from within and our warranty stands behind that.

Glass, shelves, drawer runners and hardware are covered against manufacturing defect.

The ivory finish, the gold work and the painted panels are applied by hand and recorded against your order number, so a later retouch is matched to what was actually used. Contact us and we will arrange it.