Small Side Table in Carved Teak - Gold with Drawer and Cupboard

A gallery - the raised rail around the edge of a table top - is one of those details that began as pure function and stayed for its looks.

It appeared on bedside tables when rooms were lit by candles and lamps, and when the thing most often standing on that table at night was a full glass or a jug of water. In the dark, reaching for something on a small table means feeling for it, and feeling for it means pushing things across the surface. A raised edge at the back turns a knocked glass into a stopped glass.

The reason it survived into rooms with electric light is that it also solves a design problem. A small table has a small top, and a plain flat top on a heavily carved base looks unfinished - the carving simply stops. A gallery gives the top an edge to belong to, and lets the ornament run all the way to the highest point of the piece instead of dying at the moulding.

Shaping it is the fiddly part. The rail is cut from solid stock, waved along its upper edge, and has to return around the corners without the wave breaking rhythm as it turns. Our carvers set out the wave so a full curve, not a half one, sits at each corner - which means the spacing is decided by the width of the table rather than chosen freely.

Material: Solid teak throughout - case, drawer box, cupboard door, top, gallery, uprights and feet. No veneer over engineered board.

Construction: Shaped carved gallery to the top returning at both sides, carved foliate drawer spray, cupboard door with plain oval reserve framed in carved roses, carved corner uprights running into scrolled feet, shaped apron.

Storage: One drawer over a full-height cupboard. Layout, internal shelving and fittings are configurable.

Finish: Hand-applied gold leaf, as photographed. Silver or champagne leaf, painted tones or natural teak can be specified instead.

Dimensions: Custom sizes made to order - final measurements confirmed in writing before production.

Available: Singly or as a matched pair.

Made: Handcrafted Indian luxury, produced to order by master Indian artisans.

The gallery stands above every other surface on this table and is its most exposed element, so it is protected first - foam shaped to enclose the rail on both faces along its full length, with rigid guards at the two corners where it returns.

Because the whole piece is gilded, the layer laid directly against it is soft, lint-free and applied without tension; burnished leaf marks under pressure long before timber does.

The carved roses framing the cupboard door and the foliate spray on the drawer are bridged with foam bearing on the surrounding surface rather than into the carving.

The cupboard door is secured shut with its hinges relieved of load, and the drawer is removed or locked so nothing can run out in transit.

The scrolled feet turn outward at floor level and take the first contact from a trolley, so each is guarded individually. The table then goes into a rigid outer carton braced internally. Ordered as a pair, each is crated separately. Dent-free arrival is guaranteed.

Free delivery is included anywhere in India, with no distance surcharge and nothing added at the end. Metros, tier-two cities and smaller towns are served on the same terms, and a pair ships on the same free terms as a single table.

Production begins once your dimensions, storage arrangement, gallery preference, carving depth and finish are confirmed in writing. Gilding needs curing time between stages, so we give you an honest timeline and keep you updated as the piece moves through carving, gilding and burnishing.

We dispatch through carriers experienced with gilded and carved furniture, and send tracking details as soon as it leaves us.

On arrival our team brings the table in, positions it, checks the cupboard door closes cleanly and the drawer runs freely, and removes all packaging. Dent-free arrival is guaranteed - if anything is not right, tell us and we will resolve it.

The solid teak frame and joinery carry a 20-year warranty - the case, the drawer box, the cupboard door and its hinges, the gallery, the carved uprights and the feet.

The gallery is a slim standing member and is covered on the same terms as everything else. It is cut from solid teak with the grain running along its length and jointed into the top rather than pinned onto it, which is what allows a rail that thin to take being leaned on or knocked.

The corner uprights run continuously from the top of the case into the feet, tying the front together as single members rather than as posts applied to a box.

The teak carries a lifetime warranty against termite damage for as long as you own the piece, from the oils in the timber rather than the leaf above them.

If anything covered needs attention, send us your order details and photographs and our artisans will handle the repair or replacement.