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How do we define Indian furniture?
In order to avoid any misunderstanding, it is perhaps worth clarifying what is meant by the term Indian furniture, as used in the British furniture retail sector.  It does not include furniture of the Native Peoples of North America – which may sound a bizarre exclusion, but it would be the natural first choice for inhabitants of the USA and Canada; nor does it include – however unlikely – furniture that has some connection with the Caribbean or West Indies.   

In Britain, the term is generally understood to apply to any furniture style that might originate from, or have been influenced by, the Indian Sub-Continent.  It is not therefore exclusively applied to furniture that has been made in the country of India. Although Indian furniture may be regarded as a relatively new category in the UK, the styling influences actually extend back some 400 years, or as far back as Britain’s first contact with the region, beginning in the 1600s.  Explorers and merchants were charmed by both the qualities of the many different species of timber and by the elaborate and intricate decorative styles they found.   

The early 17th Century was when the Renaissance influence arrived in Britain and this coincided with the establishment of trade with India –encouraging the export to Britain of semi-precious materials that could be inlaid to the wood.  This was well before coffee tables, even Indian coffee tables, came into being.

What are the styling features that characterise the Indian coffee table?  
When trying to distinguish between an Indian coffee table or other styles of coffee table then, as mentioned above, the first point to notice is the choice of timber.  Almost always a hardwood, some ranges use wood similar to ‘European’ timber in that it has an evenness of colour and grain pattern throughout the piece.  Others take a different approach and exploit the varying colours and grain patterns found in some species of timber.  

These colour variations are as a result of differences between the heartwood and outer wood of the tree.  The heartwood has a greater strength and provides the ‘skeleton’ to hold the tree upright while the outer wood, or sapwood, carries the moisture and nutrients from root to branch and can be likened to the blood vessels of the human body.   Colour differences between the heartwood and sapwood can be very pronounced in some species, ranging from a light, golden yellow to a dark red-brown.  This is particularly noticeable in some pieces of furniture such as the tops of Indian coffee tables.  

The use of Jali
The other major feature that helps identify many of the traditional or rustic-style Indian coffee table, is the incorporation of Jali into the design.  This intricate style of lattice work is usually crafted in steel and bonded into the centre of panels in the same way as solid wooden panels are used in British or European designs.   

Jali does not just relate to lattice work used in furniture, but is also the name given to decorative screens used in architecture, for example in mosques and temples of Oriental origin or influence.   Fittings on the traditional or rustic-style Indian coffee table, are usually made of metal, are elaborate in style and have a bright finish – typically brass or polished steel.  Contemporary designs tend to be less ornate and if fittings are present, they tend to have a greater similarity to ‘European’ styles.