The Peshawar shop that furnished the White House and Buckingham Palace

Furniture crafted by a store in Pakistan has been bought by Buckingham Palace, the shah of Iran and the White House

This article first appeared in our partner site, Independent Urdu

In 1870, a man called M Hayat opened a small furniture shop in the Punjab. He hailed from the city of Peshawar, located in present day Pakistan. Word of the quality, sophistication and beauty of his work soon spread across the Indian subcontinent. He passed on the growing business to his son, Abdul Aziz Khan.

After the partition of India, Abdul Aziz opened a branch in Peshawar. The city was at the peak of its glamour and the business thrived. M Hayat made furniture for the palaces of the shah of Iran, the king of Afghanistan, the king of England, and for US presidents.

In December 1911, an assembly was held to mark the coronation of King George V. The grand event was known as the “Delhi Durbar”, and M Hayat was asked to make the monarch’s furniture.

In 1961, president of Pakistan Ayub Khan took with him a rocking chair made by M Hayat when visiting the United States. It was gifted to John F Kennedy, the US president, who kept it in his room and is said to have been fond of it. The rocking chair was recently sold at auction for $89,600 (£68,000).

The business was passed down the generations, and is now in the care of the founder’s grandson Khalid Aziz. His wife, Nilofar Aziz, is the managing director of the company.

Speaking to Independent Urdu, Nilofar said that her husband’s role as a civil servant means he is not permitted to run the business. This led to her taking over the day-to-day running of affairs.

Ms Aziz says the company continues to export products abroad and also brings pieces to her home.

“The furniture still has a lovely gleam even though it hasn’t been polished for years. As we are from Peshawar, we mostly craft our pieces using walnut and sheesham woods”, added Nilofar.

“There is a lot of artifice in the tradesmen of today, whereas in the old days business was a lot more honest. This is why the pieces crafted by the artisans of that time are fine and durable. It is difficult to find such quality these days.”

Reviewed and proofread by Tooba Ali and Celine Assaf