Madras had developed a reputation for high quality ebony furniture by the mid-nineteenth century and pieces, such as this console, were often produced en suite with dining tables, chairs, sofas, tea caddies, footstools, etc. See Amin Jaffer, Furniture from British India and Ceylon, London, London, 2001, pp. 145, where another example of this type is illustrated.

According to Jaffer these pieces testify to the popularity of Rococo Revival furniture with the British in India in the 1850s (Jaffer, 2001, p. 145).