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The diverse nature of this catalogue is a reflection of our widespread interest in Indian, Islamic and cross-cultural works of art. This selection includes an interesting group of ceramics along with exotic furniture and Indian miniatures which we will be showcasing this year. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the museums and collectors who have supported us over the past year. Your enthusiasm has inspired me to continue to source interesting and exceptional objects. This catalogue would not have been possible without the efforts of Trina Lee Johnson, who along with original research, edited and organised the entire catalogue. I would also like to thank the following for their research and contributions: Dr Robert Del Bonta, Will Kwiatkowski, Christina Hales and Adrien Von Ferscht. I would like to extend my gratitude to Dr Marjo Alafouzo for her help with editing of the text, Angelo Plantamura for his beautiful photography and Franรงoise Barrier for her creative design and layout. Amir Mohtashemi
2016
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Miniature colonial chair South India or Sri Lanka, circa 1680-1720 55cm high, 40.5cm wide, 33.5cm deep
This small wooden chair is made of carved and turned ebony with a caned drop-in seat. The top rail and backrest have been decorated with floral scrolls, and in between the top and bottom rail there is a vertical row of seven turned balusters. The arm rests are carved with floral scrolls. Floral borders are also carved along the front and side seat-rails. The twisted and turned baluster legs have small rectangular blocks with carved flowers near the feet. This type of ebony furniture was produced for the European market and is recorded in British collections. A Dutch traveller, Georg Rumphius (1627-1702), recorded that the Coromandel Coast “is exceptionally richly provided of this [ebony] as the natives make from it all kinds of curious works, as chairs, benches and small tables, carving them out with foliage, and sculpture.�
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(Reference: http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O49994/ chair-unknown/. The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Accession Numbers IS.6-2000.) Similar examples of 17th century ebony armchairs can be found in the collection of the Marquess of Bath, Longleat House, Wiltshire, and a full-size chair, of nearly identical decoration and form, is in The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Accession Number IS. 413-1882. Literature: Jaffer, Furniture from British India and Ceylon: A catalogue of the collections in The Victoria and Albert Museum and The Peabody Essex Museum, Timeless Books, New Delhi, 2001.
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Anglo-Indian ivory armchair Murshidabad, circa 1800-1810 98cm high, 54cm wide, 53.5cm deep
The armchair is made of solid ivory with turned and carved decoration. The caned back splat is surrounded by four rows of turned spindle decoration with the top rail delicately carved with openwork foliage. The front and sides of the seat rails have a row of turned spindle-shaped balusters beneath. The sides of the chair are open; the armrests are carved with applied leaf decoration. The front and rear legs are tapered and turned; the feet have metal sockets. This finely carved and turned solid ivory chair is a rare survivor of the exotic and luxurious furniture which was usually commissioned in Murshidabad by European royalty and other wealthy patrons. A solid ivory armchair and footstool with similar turned spindle decoration is in The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Accession Number IS 7 & 8-1991, and was made in Murshidabad around 1800-1810. Both the Victoria and Albert Museum and our armchair relate closely to the spindle decoration depicted on the Murshidabad armchair on loan at The Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts, USA, Accession Number PEM TD 98.14.5, circa 1790 (see Jaffer, p. 248-257). Provenance: Gerald Hochshild; Sotheby’s, London, December 1978, Lot 165; Private French Collection Literature: Jaffer, Furniture from British India and Ceylon: A catalogue of the collections in The Victoria and Albert Museum and The Peabody Essex Museum, Timeless Books, New Delhi, 2001.
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Miniature bureau-cabinet Vizagapatam, 18th century 80cm high, 62cm wide, 28cm deep
A sandalwood bureau-cabinet, veneered in ivory and engraved in black lac. The bureau cabinet is in two parts: a bureau with hinged door and a cabinet with four vertical drawers with two doors on either side of the drawers. The bureau cabinet is decorated throughout with European-style architectural buildings, trees and floral scroll borders. Architectural and floral elements engraved meticulously onto veneered ivory with black lac characterise the highly-prized Vizagapatam furniture made for export and at times gifted to European royalty during the 18th century (Jaffer, p. 202). The fascinating architectural features seen on 18th century Vizagapatam furniture were direct copies from English and Dutch engravings. A similar Vizagapatam ivory bureau-cabinet is in The Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts, USA, Accession Number PEM E82996.A-C, circa 1780-90, and another in The Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, which belonged to J.W. Janssens, the last Dutch Governor of the Cape Colony, circa 1780-90 (Jaffer, fig. 93, p. 202). A mid-18th century Vizagapatam bureau-cabinet without any architectural or landscape decoration, is in The Royal Collection Trust, bought by George III for Queen Charlotte in 1781 and is currently housed in The Royal Pavilion in Brighton, England. Queen Charlotte took great pleasure in Vizagapatam ivory furniture and continued to collect Anglo-Indian pieces for her ‘Indian Room’ at Frogmore House in Windsor. Literature: Jaffer, Furniture from British India and Ceylon: A catalogue of the collections in The Victoria and Albert Museum and The Peabody Essex Museum, Timeless Books, New Delhi, 2001.
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Indo-Portuguese spice box Goa, Second half of the 17th century 19.5cm high, 53cm wide, 55cm deep
This exceptionally large octagonal teak box is decorated with ebony and ivory inlay of symmetrically arranged dragon-like animals with stylised floral decoration and later added gilt-bronze fittings. The decoration with stylised dragons or makaras is most likely derived from Indian mythology. The style depicted on this spice box closely resembles the Contador cabinets that were made in Goa for the Portuguese during the 17th century. The shape of the box is unparalleled in this group of Goanese marquetry furniture made predominately for the Portuguese market. The spice box depicted here is the only known example of its kind and is thus extremely rare.
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Mughal octagonal container India, Late 17th / early 18th century 14.5cm high, 23cm diameter
The octagonal rosewood box is decorated on eight sides with ivory openwork of split palmettes and floral designs laid on top of mica panels. The flat cover of the box is further embellished with openwork ivory panels on top of mica with inlaid tortoiseshell, ivory openwork panels and stained ivory. The panels are secured by small brass pins. Along the border, a delicate band of ebony and ivory inlaid micro-mosaic work surrounds the ivory openwork panels on the lid. Inside the box, there are four compartments separated by rosewood and ivory panels. There is a hinged lid with metal floral rosettes to one side for the lid chain and a keyhole and key at the front of the box. The inner lid has ebony and ivory borders. The central teak panel has been signed at a later date by the previous owner’s name ‘Lisette Luffargue, 1858’. The ivory openwork on this container is based on formal Islamic split-palmette and floral border designs. Most of the original internal fittings are missing from this box - the internal compartments would have most
likely held exotic spices. Although this rare spice box is a primary example of the type of luxury export wares made for the European market, both the floral decoration and design are based on Mughal taste. The Mughal cabinet of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, 17th century, Kapany Collection, is decorated with ivory and tortoiseshell with overlaid ivory panels, and also incorporates similar micro-mosaic decoration inlaid with ebony and ivory as seen on the borders of the lid (Stronge, fig. 89, p. 81). The octagonal shape of this box is based on Indian metal forms seen from as early as the 16th century. Examples of octagonal-shaped metal boxes include Deccani bidri pandan containers inlaid with brass and silver from the second half of the 16th and the 17th centuries. One second half of the 16th century octagonal pandan is in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Accession Number 1996.3A,B; the other, mid-17th century, is in The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Accession Number 2066-1883 IS (Zebrowski, figs. 448 and 449, p. 265). Literature: Stronge, The Arts of the Sikh Kingdoms, V&A Publications, London, 1999. Zebrowski, Gold, Silver and Bronze from Mughal India, Alexandria Press in association with Laurence King, London, 1997.
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Singhalese ivory casket with silver mounts Sri Lanka, 17th / 18th century 11cm high, 16.5cm wide, 8.5cm deep
A solid ivory box with a domed lid, rectangular body and silver mounts. This casket is depicted with backward-scrolling tendrils and small flowers known as ‘recalcitrant spiral motif’. The entire exterior of the casket is decorated with the floral carvings.
Similar carving style can be seen on a Singhalese ivory cabinet with silver mounts, circa 1650-1700, in Jan Veenendaal, Asian Art and Dutch Taste, Waanders Uitgevers Zwolle, Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, 2014, p. 43, ill. 54 & 55. See illustration 51 in Veenendaal, p. 42, for an ivory box of similar form with later English silver uprights. Coffer shaped boxes of this period (1650-1700) were mainly produced for the Dutch market. Another ivory cabinet carved with floral decoration from Sri Lanka, circa 1700, in The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Accession Number IS.70-1959, opens up to reveal silver floret mounts with ring handles comparable to the two decorative ring handles represented on the front of this casket. Provenance: Private UK Collection
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Anglo-Indian workbox
Vizagapatam, circa 1790-1800 18.5cm high, 20.5cm wide, 13.2cm deep
The sandalwood rectangular box is modelled in the form of a house, veneered with ivory panels and engraved with black lac. The four sides have charming depictions of an English cottage including a door, lattice windows, fences, trees and various shrubs. The hinged lid is in the form of a slanted roof with incised decoration and a bricked chimney on top. The roof opens up to reveal nine compartments and two red-velvet pin cushions set inside; one compartment includes a holed-cover. The front of the box has a silver keyhole. Inside the interior on the right side of the box there is a metal pin which secures a secret compartment.
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This Anglo-Indian workbox was made in Vizagapatam, India, and is based on the idyllic English cottage, imitating the Tunbridge Ware models from the late 18th and early 19th centuries (Jaffer, p. 206). The Tunbridge Ware examples were made in lighter woods and painted with cottage landscape scenes. The Victoria and Albert Museum workbox in the shape of a house, Vizagapatam, circa 1790-1800, Accession Number W.20:1-5-1951, was initially catalogued by the curators in 1951 as being made in England (Jaffer, fig. 50, p. 206). Our workbox is slightly larger than the one in The Victoria and Albert Museum collection; however, the engraved cottage scene decoration is quite similar in its execution and style. Literature: Jaffer, Furniture from British India and Ceylon: A catalogue of the collections in The Victoria and Albert Museum and The Peabody Essex Museum, Timeless Books, New Delhi, 2001.
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Anglo-Indian workbox Vizagapatam, circa 1790-1800 15.5cm high, 15cm wide, 10cm deep
The rectangular sandalwood box is in the shape of a cottage veneered with ivory and engraved with black lac. The four sides of the work box are decorated with a door, latticed windows, trees and flowers. The pitched roof has an incised decoration, floral border and a bricked chimney on top. The hinged lid opens up to reveal nine compartments with ivory edging to the top of each panel. The front of the box has a keyhole and key. Inside the interior on the right side of the box there is a metal pin which secures a secret compartment. This workbox is closer in size to the one in The Victoria and Albert Museum (see catalogue entry Number 7) and the engraved cottage scene decoration is quite similar in style. However, The Victoria and Albert Museum workbox is depicted with red lac engraving on the chimney whilst our box is engraved throughout with black lac only.
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Literature: Jaffer, Furniture from British India and Ceylon: A catalogue of the collections in The Victoria and Albert Museum and The Peabody Essex Museum, Timeless Books, New Delhi, 2001.
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An exceptional Gujarati pen box India, 16th century 37cm long, 11.5cm wide
A rare royal pen box of rectangular form on four short feet. The surface is decorated with extremely fine motherof-pearl inlay on black mastic ground with royal entertainment scenes comprised of dancing figures, musicians and animals in combat all flanking a central royal figure depicted in several places seated on a throne. Additionally, mother-of-pearl birds and two architectural pavilions are represented all on a background of fine scrolling floral arabesques. The front and back of the pen box have two nasta’liq inscription cartouches, set on a black mastic ground decorated with gilt birds and vegetal shapes. There are three brass brackets on each corner of the box with two further ones on each foot. The base and rim have bands of geometric design. The interior is divided into two compartments. The nasta’liq inscriptions are poetic lines on the art of the pen. The Persian inscription translates as follows: “The pen is melancholy with its musk-coloured script, Because the pen has a supply like the purest ambergris, Do you know why the colour of the pen is red? Because it is burning from the flames of the sigh of our hearts.” There are very few surviving examples of this type of mother-of-pearl inlay technique and all the known pen boxes are in museum collections. Due to the fragile nature of mother-of-pearl embedded in mastic and as a result of the Asian climate, many of these overlaid furniture pieces have not survived over time. The closest comparable piece is in The Freer Sackler Collection, Smithsonian Institute, Washington, USA, Accession Number F1986.58a-c. The striding figures in profile depicted on the piece are strikingly similar and very likely were produced in the same workshop. Another example of this technique is in The Virginia Museum of Fine Art (Accession Number 82.114). It is the largest known example of overlaid furniture in existence, but the mother-of-pearl inlay is coarser and has no figural decoration. A much finer pen box with three nasta’liq cartouches also without figural decoration is in The LACMA (Accession Number M.73.5.340). Another example, in The Benaki Museum, is of comparable quality to this pen box and contains cartouches with verse in nasta’liq and is dated to 1587. Provenance: Private UK Collection
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Iznik dish decorated with animals Turkey, circa 1585 28cm diameter
The circular dish is painted in green, cobalt blue, bole red and black enamels with figures of chasing animals in the centre. The centre of the dish is decorated with a monkey, deer and hound-like animals. The border of the rim is encircled with lively hares, birds, foxes and hounds in pursuit. The reverse of the dish is decorated with painted blue, green and black alternating floral rosettes. Two dishes in The Calouste Gulbenkian Collection, Lisbon, Accession Numbers 2034 and 779, have similar chased animal decoration in the central and border areas including representations of hares, hounds, foxes, birds and deer. The inner border of the central decoration includes half-rosette shapes of blue and red alternating petals which vary from the two Gulbenkian dishes which have blue thin saz-leaf decoration. In comparison to the two dishes in The Gulbenkian Collection, our dish differs in that it includes a quirky depiction of a crouching monkey with two painted blue breasts on its chest. In its one hand the monkey is mischievously holding an item while the other hand scratches its lower back. Two other dishes with compositions including the rare depiction of monkeys are published in Bilgi, Dance of Fire: Iznik Tiles and Ceramics in The Sadberk Hanim Museum and Omer M. Koc Collections, Sadberk Hanim Museum, Istanbul, 2009, p. 466-467, pl. 302 and 303. Other Iznik dishes from the second half of the 16th century with chasing menagerie decoration can be found in The Ashmolean Museum, University of
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Oxford, Accession Number EA 1978.1420, The David Collection, Copenhagen, Accession Number 3/1985 and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Accession Number 1979.412. An Iznik dish in The British Museum, London, Accession Number G. 165, is decorated with deer, fox, hounds, a plump quail-like bird and an owl. The border rim is decorated in the classic wave pattern without animals. Multiple Iznik dishes with various animal decoration are in The Musée National de la Renaissance, France, Accession Numbers 8354 (DS 2161), 8356 (DS 2163), 8357 (DS 2164), 8358 (DS 2165), 8359 (DS 2166), 8360 (DS 2167) and 8362 (DS 2169). The collection also includes an Iznik jug, circa 1590, Accession Number 9287 (DS 2638), with animals painted on a bluish-green background. The closest example to our dish (in terms in decoration but slightly larger at 29.4cm diameter is in The Musée National de la Renaissance Collection), Plat à la fries d’animaux passant sur le marli, Accession Number 8361 (DS 2168), circa 1575, is decorated with a sphinx, birds, deer, hares, foxes, hounds and a pair of leopardlike cats. Likewise, another similar dish, but of the exact same size as ours (28cm diameter) is illustrated in Rackham, Islamic Pottery and Italian Maiolica: Illustrated Catalogue of a Private Collection, Faber and Faber, London, 1959, p. 46, pl. 82B; the dish is decorated with cheetahs, hares, foxes and birds. Provenance: Private French Collection
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Iznik dish Turkey, Second half of the 16th century 31cm diameter
The polychrome dish is painted with a symmetrical composition of a central green cypress tree, cobalt blue and bole red saz leaves with roses and meandering branches to each side. The key fret border on the rim has an alternating bole red and green decoration with black outline. The reverse of the dish is decorated with alternating cobalt blue flowers with green leaves and single cintemani dots in blue and green. There is a similar Iznik dish in The Shangri La, Hawaii, USA, from The Doris Duke Foundation for Islamic Art, dated to circa 1565, comprising of a symmetrical design of carnations, roses and tulips to each side of a central cypress tree with a comparable key fret border.
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m o h t a s h e m i Epigraphical turquoise pottery bowl Iran or Golden Horde, Ilkhanid Period, 13th / 14th century 20cm diameter
The frit-ware bowl is painted in a vibrant turquoise glaze. In the centre of the bowl, there is a double-cross design with boldly painted black underglaze naskhi calligraphy to the interior of the bowl. The inner rim is decorated with a pear-shaped border and radiating lines are represented on the exterior of the bowl. This bowl with naskhi calligraphy is a prime example of the pottery ‘Sultanabad wares’ made under the Ilkhanid Period (1256-1353). The Mongol invasions in Iran and surrounding neighbours brought a cross-culture of trade through the Silk Road. See a similar bowl from Iran or possibly Golden Horde in The Al-Sabah Collection, Accession Number LNS 767 C, late 13th / early 14th century, also depicted with calligraphy and similar border decoration (Watson, p. 77). Literature: Watson, Ceramics From Islamic Lands: Kuwait National Museum, The Al-Sabah Collection, Thames & Hudson, London, 2004. Provenance: Private French Collection
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Persian blue and white dish Tabriz, Iran, Early 16th century 31.5cm diameter
This dish of circular form is decorated with a large central peony spray amongst leaves. The inner rim of the dish is painted with a cobalt blue and black honeycomb pattern. There is a wave border on a hatched background on the everted rim. The back of the dish is decorated with cobalt blue waterweed design. Three spur marks are visible to the front of the dish. A similar Tabriz dish with accidental copper-turquoise splashes to the interior is in The Royal Ontario Museum, Accession Number 909.26.44; it has nearly identical decoration with a central peony spray, honeycomb design and waterweed exterior (Golombek, p. 256, pl. 74). Another late 15th or early 16th century dish with similar waterweed pattern to the exterior is in The Al-Sabah Collection, Accession Number LNS 762 C (Watson, p. 455). A third example with a similar wave border and honeycomb pattern but with a rabbit painted to the centre is in The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Accession Number 559-1905, circa 1500-1550.
Literature: Golombek and others, Tamerlane’s Tableware: A New Approach to the Chinoiserie Ceramics of Fifteenth-and Sixteenth-Century Iran, Mazda Publishers in association with Royal Ontario Museum, California, USA, 1996. Watson, Ceramics From Islamic Lands: Kuwait National Museum, The Al-Sabah Collection, Thames & Hudson, London, 2004.
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Iznik dish Turkey, 16th century 28.8cm diameter
This circular dish has an everted rim. In its centre there is a symmetrical polychrome composition of bole red roses, cobalt blue hyacinths, red tulips, red and blue carnations with green stems and leaves on a white ground. The rim is decorated with a wide wave-pattern border; the exterior has alternating floral rosettes and cloud-like motifs.
Provenance: Joseph Soustiel, Paris, 1960s-70s
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Iznik dish Turkey, 16th century 28.5cm diameter
The circular dish with an everted rim is painted with a cobalt blue, green and black wave-pattern. The centre of the dish has an asymmetrical composition of bole red and blue roses, blue and red hyacinths and blue tulips with red dots, all rising from a central sprig of leaves. The exterior of the dish is painted with alternating blue and green rosettes and cobalt blue double-tulips outlined in black. Provenance: Joseph Soustiel, Paris, 1960s-70s
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Iznik dish Turkey, 16th century 28.5cm diameter
This Iznik dish with scalloped rim is expertly painted with unusual cobalt blue double-tulips with green knots, bole red and green rosettes. The interior of the dish has a symmetrical composition of a large blue and red cypress tree. To each side of the cypress tree there is a symmetrical design of blue hyacinths with red roses and tulips. The exterior of the dish is painted with alternating cobalt blue double-tulips and green flowers outlined in black. Provenance: Joseph Soustiel, Paris, 1960s-70s
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Iznik tile
Turkey, circa 1540-45 25.5cm high, 22.5cm wide
This hexagonal tile is painted in cobalt blue and turquoise under transparent glaze on a white ground. The surface of the tile is decorated with a large star. In the centre of the star there is a blue and turquoise rosette with protruding stems terminating in various flower heads. There is a similar hexagonal blue and white Iznik tile in Bilgi, Dance of Fire: Iznik Tiles and Ceramics in The Sadberk Hanim Museum and Ömer M. Koç Collections, Sadberk Hanim Museum, Istanbul, 2009, p. 90, fig. 24.
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Iznik border tile Turkey, Second half of the 16th century 25.5cm high, 13cm wide
This polychrome rectangular border tile is painted in cobalt blue, turquoise and bole red outlined delicately in black. The cobalt blue ground is decorated with carnations, tulips and floral medallions alternating with white cartouches containing additional floral medallions. The design on this border tile appears to be unparalleled. Provenance: Private European Collection
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Iznik tile Turkey, Second half of the 16th century 25cm square
A polychrome tile of square form painted with cobalt blue, green and bole red on a white slip ground. A central star-like floral rosette is surrounded by four main flower heads on a symmetrical design with leaves and stylised lotus flowers. A nearly identical tile is illustrated in Bilgi, Iznik: The Ömer Koç Collection, Hülya Bilgi, Ghent, 2015, fig. 149, p. 350.
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Hispano-Moresque jug Manises, Spain, Second half of the 15th century 21.5cm high
The tin-glazed earthenware jug of baluster form is painted with three registers of alternating cobalt-blue and copper-lustre vine-shaped bryony leaves, flowers and scrolling decoration. The applied strap handle and spout are painted in a golden copper-lustre with a small circular ring handle above the spout. This highly-prized lustre jug, with its vibrant painted decoration, was made in Manises during the second half of the 15th century. The jug exemplifies Valencian lustre wares which were favoured pieces collected predominately by stately households in Europe during the 15th century. Examples of this particular ivy leaf-pattern on lustre albarello can be found on a painted panel in The Uffizi Gallery in Florence, by the Flemish artist Hugo van der Goes; the panel depicts a lustre albarello (drug or medicine jar) in the foreground with the same blue and gold bryony leaf-pattern (Husband, p. 16-17, fig. 7). See two Valencian lustre jugs of similar decoration, size and form in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Cloisters Collection, Accession Numbers 56.171.84 (21.9cm high) and 56.171.83 (21.6cm high). Other lustre wares with bryony leaf-patterns made in Manises but of different form can be found in The British Museum, London, Accession Number G.613 (pair of jugs with a cross of St. George painted on them), 1968,0204.1 (albarello) and The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Accession Number 8968.1863 (flower vase). Literature: Husband, “Valencian Lusterware of the Fifteenth Century: Notes and Documents“, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Summer, 1970, p. 11-19, fig. 7 (Detail of The Nativity, from the Portinari altar piece, a painted panel by the Flemish artist Hugo van der Goes, dated to 1473-1475, The Uffizi, Florence).
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Hispano-Moresque jug Manises, Spain, Second half of the 15th century 22.2cm high
The tin-glazed earthenware jug of baluster form is painted with three registers of alternating cobalt-blue and copper-lustre vineshaped bryony leaves, flowers and scrolling decoration. The applied strap handle and spout are painted in a brownish copper-lustre with a small circular ring handle above the spout.
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Hispano-Moresque jug Manises, Spain Early 16th century 21cm high, 11cm diameter
The goblet-shaped jug sits on a tall conical splayed foot. The curved applied strap handle is connected to the tall body. On the other side, there is a long channel-like spout with hatched decoration. On the sides, three-bands of raised decoration with floral sprays painted in brown lustre on a cream coloured ground. This rare jug is the same shape as the silver prototypes also known as jarra de pico [jars with a beak]. This type of lustre ware was highly-prized in Spain during the Muslim conquest and beyond. The closest jug in terms of shape and decoration, but with cobalt blue and brown lustre on a cream ground is in The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Accession Number 56-1907. See two brown and cream chargers with similar hatched decoration in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, late 15th century, Manises, Accession Numbers 94.4.362 and 68.215.2. Other examples with the ‘dot-and-stalk’ hatched decoration can be found on a Manises cup with a tall conical foot, circa 1480-1500, in The British Museum, London, Accession Number 1855,1201.84 and a Valencian handled vase, 16th century, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Accession Number 56.171.79. Another 16th century Valencian jug of similar shape but with vine-leaf decoration is in The Museum of London, London, Accession Number 23043. Literature: Ray, Spanish Pottery 1248-1898 with a catalogue of the collection in The Victoria and Albert Museum, V&A Publications, London, 2000. Dectot, Céramiques hispaniques: XIIème-XVIIIème siècles, RMN, Paris, 2007.
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Blue and white ewer
China, Ming Dynasty, Jiajing Period with apocryphal four-character Xuande mark 24cm high
The flattened pear-shaped body is painted with cobalt blue lotus scrolls on a white ground. Each side of the ewer is decorated with three floral sprays on a scrolled leafy ground on a central tear-shaped raised panel. Upright leaves are painted on the tapered neck with a diamondpattern band set below the neck. The curved spout is decorated with floral scrolls and flames; the spout is connected to the body with the head of a makara. The end of the spout is connected to the neck with a cloud-shaped strut. The tapered neck of the ewer has an everted rim; the arched flat-handle strap is painted with floral scrolls. The top of the flat handle strap has a small circular loop. The splayed foot is also accented with lotus scrolls; there is an apocryphal four-character Xuande mark to the base. This Ming blue and white ewer was made during the Jiajing Period (1522-1566) in China; however, its form is based on Persian metal prototypes. A similar flattened pear-shaped blue and white ewer, Jiajing period (1522-1566), is illustrated in Krahl with Erbahar, Chinese Ceramics in The Topkapi Saray Museum, Istanbul: A Complete Catalogue, II, Yuan and Ming Dynasty Porcelains, Sotheby’s Publications, London, 1986, p. 656-657, fig. 1018.
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Blue and white huqqa base China, Ming Dynasty, 17th century 15.5cm high
The huqqa base has a squat globular melon-like form. Painted in underglaze blue with a band of standing leaves above the drip guard. A further band of leaves forms from just below the neck with thin underglaze blue lines running in between the moulding of the lobes and reaches the last band of leaves near the base. The base of the huqqa is unglazed. This rare Chinese porcelain huqqa base with lobed decoration is borrowed from Indian metalwork prototypes and was made for the Indian market.
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Indian rosewater sprinkler Deccan (Karimnagar), 18th century 29cm high, 9.5cm diameter
The silver rosewater sprinkler is constructed of two layers. The inner layer of the spherical body of plain silvergilt has been overlaid with a delicate filigree of floral openwork decoration. Rosewater sprinklers, gulabpash, originated in Persia but became popular in India and were especially used as a part of the courtly ritual. This finely executed rosewater sprinkler was made in Karimnagar during the 18th century. Other fine examples of Deccani filigree silver can be found on an exquisite toiletry set of Catherine The Great, including two filigree rosewater sprinklers, Deccan, circa 1740-50, in The State Hermitage Museum (Menshikova, p. 58). Literature: Menshikova, Silver: Wonders from the East, Filigree of the Tsars, Lund Humphries in association with The Hermitage Museum, Amsterdam, 2006.
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A Royal Teapot
Thailand, 19th century 25cm high, 20cm diameter
Unlike most Chinese silver, this teapot comes with an indisputable provenance. The silver mark on the teapot reads 黄昭茂 Huang Zhao Mao, a Bangkok retail silversmith in the 19th century. Not much is known about Huang Zhao Mao other than it is recognised that important pieces were acquired through this retail house. The teapot is known to have belonged to an old Siamese nobleman, a once Governor of Pattani, who probably acquired the teapot circa 1875 during the reign of Kind Chulalongkorn the Great [King Rama V]. The tea pot was known as “The Royal Teapot” and is said to have only been used in the presence of Siamese royalty. The last known time it was used was during a visit of King Pattani [Vajiravudh], King Rama VI. This royal parcel gilded teapot displays the finest silver-making skills of a Chinese silversmith operating within the context of Siamese traditional culture - only gold items were allowed for royal usage.
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A letter, dated 1936, exists from Frank Margrett of F.W. Margrett, Bangkok [Purveyors of silver to H.H. The Sultan of Johore], attesting to the provenance of this item. Reference: Von Ferscht [Honorary Research Fellow, Scottish Centre for China Research - University of Glasgow], Chinese Export Silver 1785-1940: The Definitive Collectors’ Guide, 4th Edition, January 2015 http://chinese-export-silver.com/catalogue-of-makersmarks/
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m o h t a s h e m i Ottoman tombak stirrups Turkey, 18th century 22cm long, 19cm high
The pair of gilt-copper stirrups decorated with carved flower heads and scalloped borders. The top section is brass, which has been added later with attached leather straps. The word tombak in its Turkish context generally refers to metal which has been covered with a layer of gold. This process of gilding on metal using mercury was referred to as tombaklama (Sahin, p. 299). During the Ottoman period, tombak goods served for two main functions – as household and military wares such as helmets, harnesses, staffs, swords, and as ceremonial items (see Kayaoglu). This pair of Ottoman tombak stirrups falls under the military category and would have been used by a high-ranking member of the army. The popularity of tombak might be due to the fact that the Muslim courts were prohibited from using luxury items made of gold and silver according to Islamic doctrine. A similar shaped late 18th century tombak stirrup (broad-bottomed stirrup) but made of brass is illustrated in Kayaoglu, Tombak, 1992. Literature: Kayaoglu, Tombak, Disbank, Turkey, 1992. Sahin, The Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts: Thirteen Centuries of Glory from the Umayyads to the Ottomans, Blue Dome Press, New York, NY, 2009.
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Silver inlaid pouring vessel Mamluk, Egypt, circa 1350-1400 21 cm diameter including spout
This elegant diminutive spouted bowl derives its shape from a design that goes back to the ancient Egyptian times. Just below the rim there is a benedictory inscription in Arabic. The lower register encircling the body is composed of seated figures in discourse. The underside is engraved with a figure on horseback carrying a lance. The interior has been engraved with a group of circling fish and still retains some of its original silver inlay. There are several other small spouted bowls in museum collections; there is a near identical example to ours in The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Accession Number M.713-1910.
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Jade dagger handle
India, 17th / 18th century 13cm high
The light green jade dagger handle has been carved in a well-proportioned and elegant form. The jade handle comprises of two pieces and is carved and decorated with raised flowers and foliage. On one side of the jade handle, there is an attached old label: ‘Fenton & Sons, 11, New Oxford St, London’. In the inner grip, there are three subtle indentations accommodated for the grip. The auction house and dealership, Fenton & Sons, was active in England from 1894 until 1927. The British Museum acquired various pieces from Fenton & Sons during this period.
A similar Mughal jade dagger handle, 13.1cm in height is illustrated in Teng Shu-p’ing, Exquisite Beauty: Islamic Jades, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2012, p. 118, pl. 141. A slightly smaller example, 12.2cm long, is in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Accession Number 1982.321.
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Jade Zafar Takieh India, 18th century 9cm high, 12 cm wide
The light green jade bow-shaped dervish chin rest or crutch handle is carved exquisitely with raised flowers, leaves and foliage and is comprised of two pieces of jade. This jade dervish rest, ‘Zafar Takieh’ would have been attached to a long shaft which was used as a part of a Sufi ritual. A similar Mughal jade crutch handle together with its jade shaft is illustrated in Teng Shu-p’ing, Exquisite Beauty: Islamic Jades, National Palace Museum, Taipei, 2012, p. 116, pl. 137. Two other jade examples are in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Accession Numbers 36.25.734 and 36.25.1001a,b. Provenance: Private American Collection
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Ummayad capital Andalucía, Spain, 10th century 18cm high, 18cm maximum diameter
A small corner capital of pale marble carved with scrolling vines and leaves. The design of this rare piece follows very closely to the type of stone capitals made in Madinat al-Zahra, the royal city of the Umayyad Dynasty, in Spain during the 10th century. Other examples can be found in Museo Arqueológico Provincial de Córdoba, Spain, and two similar 10th century Spanish marble capitals, probably from Cordoba, are in The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Accession Numbers 30.95.134 and 30.95.135. Accession Number 30.95.134 represents similar carved decoration to our capital; the other capital, Accession Number 30.95.135, shares the same decorative band. Literature: Les Andalousies de Damas à Cordoue, Serpa Editions, France, 2000. Dodds (ed.), Al-Andalus: The Art of Islamic Spain, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York, 1992.
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A set of Mughal glass bottles with a royal case
Bottles: India, 18th century Case: England, Late 18th / early 19th century Bottles: 14.5cm high, 7cm wide, 7cm deep Case: 20cm high, 25.5cm wide, 17.5cm deep
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These six glass bottles of rectangular form have concave plain bases with pontil marks. The opaque moulded and blown glass has polychrome and gilt decoration of flowers, vases and birds elegantly painted on all four sides of each bottle including the neck. All bottles have been fitted with silver hinged lids and are contained in a bespoke shagreen carrying case. On the top lid of the case, there is a single silver handle with ‘GR’ monogram together with a royal crown. The front of the box has a key and fittings. The custom-made shagreen carrying case sits on four silvered bun feet. While the origins of Indian glassmaking can be difficult to trace, many examples are believed to have been made in Gujarat or Deccan during the 18th century. The mono-
gram ‘GR’ on the top of the carrying case is most likely the monogram of King George II (1683-1760). These Indian glass bottles in all likelihood were an exotic gift to the royal household and judging by the quality of the bespoke shagreen carrying case, the entire set must have been a highly-prized possession. Two similar 18th century Indian glass bottles with gilt decoration are in The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Accession Numbers IS. 1891A-1855 and IS. 17-1867. Other similar examples are in The Corning Museum of Glass, New York, Accession Numbers 59.1.583, 2002.1.1 and The Al-Sabah Collection in The Kuwait National Museum, Accession Number LNS 428 G b.
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Portrait of an Indian girl
Anonymous, 19th century English School Oil on board 45cm high, 30cm wide (58.5cm high, 44.5cm wide framed)
A charming and an accomplished portrait of a young girl in a white sari emerging from a wooden doorway holding a broom in her right hand. The detail of her simple ornamentation is beautifully highlighted showing a silvered necklace and a toe ring on her left foot. She stands looking slightly to her left as though observing the artist. In the far background, the artist has conveyed a tropical setting with green palm trees and a light blue sky. In the foreground on the right corner, a clay pot is realistically represented. Curiously, an inscription in the bottom corner of the wooden doorway reads, ‘Carino’. Most likely, this is a term of endearment. The back of the painting with handwritten inscription in pencil reads: ‘Sweeper Cast or Pariah of Madras 75-’. The anonymous artist of this painting was seemingly influenced by the great British artist, Arthur William Devis (1763-1822), who was active in India during the 18th and 19th centuries. Devis was known for his realistic portrayals of Bengali occupations painted while he was travelling in India. Furthermore, there are distinct similarities between this painting and the one attributed to Edward Frederick Green (17671850) titled At the Well (Reference: Amir Mohtashemi catalogue, March 2014, Number 22).
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Study of a male Indian golden oriole (Oriolus kundoo)
Company School, Calcutta, Bengal, India, circa 1800-1810 Ink and watercolour heightened with white on paper 37cm high, 25cm wide
This is a particularly fine example of what is called Company School Painting, a title which covers a wide variety of styles, but refers to works done by Indian artists for European patrons in the late 18th and early 19th century. These patrons were often associated with the various foreign enterprises that had sent their agents to India, notably the East India Company. Paintings done for the Europeans often consisted of sets with various themes: fauna and/or flora, occupations and castes, architectural monuments, etc. The artists often depicted animals, often life-size as in this case, and many famous large works were done for Lady Mary Impey (17491818), the wife of Elijah Impey, chief justice of Bengal, who had collected a large menagerie and had artists paint portraits of her finds. Her collection of studies, almost 200 of which were of birds, was dispersed in the 1810. Other larger albums of bird and wildlife studies were done around the same time for the Marquess Wellesley (17601842), Governor General of Bengal from 1798-1804, and Francis Buchanan (1762-1829). These albums are now in the British Library. Many of these studies simply depict birds or other animals against plain backgrounds, while a few, particularly in Lady Impey’s studies, were placed on branches, sometimes with a few landscape elements. Although those mostly depicted the branch as already cut, our example has the tree firmly rooted in the ground. Although the details here are accurately rendered, the whole still occupies an airless space. This artist has actually offered three sensitive and naturalistic studies: the Oriole itself eyeing a hairy caterpillar (probably of some species of moth) and the stalk and leaves of the tree. The leaves are carefully delineated, front and back. Here the artist applies his paint in layers to give a good sense of the lifelike texture to the foliage of the bird. The Indian artists working for European patrons were trained in a late Mughal tradition and had to acquire new techniques to work in a European watercolour style. Unlike Western artists such as the later ornithologist John James Audubon, Indian artists worked from live specimens. The tradition goes back to pre-colonial times, even during the Mughal emperor Jahangir’s reign, where at various centres patrons also had collected menageries and had their artists make realistic portraits of their animals and birds. While true to nature, these works were also intended to be aesthetically pleasing.
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Ladies Gather at a Riverside Pavilion
Provincial Mughal, India, circa 1740-60 Opaque watercolour heightened with gold on paper 30cm high, 23cm wide
A clear blue sky, rolling hills and a gently flowing river, dappled with lotus blossoms, sets this eloquent scene with a group of women gathering at a pavilion. Two female attendants cross the cool marble floor to present offerings to a woman resting against a green bolster on a pale yellow carpet. Acknowledging their gifts, she offers her right hand in a gesture of receiving. All the women wear elegant full skirts (ghagras), sheer blouses (cholis) and veils (odhanis) edged in fine gold ribbon. Bedecked in pearl necklaces, precious stone armlets (bazubands) and radiant headpieces (tikkas), their status is implicit. This sumptuous exuberance is enhanced by the silk carpet, gold niches and delicate floral sprays, which decorate the interior of the pavilion. While the prevailing mood evokes a pastoral tranquillity, subtle indications allude that all is not as it may seem. Across the river peacocks gaze anxiously toward the far right, suggesting an imminent presence. The uneasy gestures of the birds are echoed by the attendant in the pavilion, holding a peacock feather fan, (morchal). Neglecting her duties, she gazes wistfully over her shoulder as she casts her eyes to the right. Her slender finger points downwards toward the carpet on which her mistress presides and significantly the vacant cushion beside her. In ragamala paintings (visual expressions of musical modes), the peacock often appears as a metaphor for an absent lover, such as Krishna. The morchal is also emblematic of Krishna as it represents the feathers of his crown. Nayikas or heroines frequently appear in ragamala paintings, symbolising their relationship with the hero or nayaka. They enabled artists to convey various rasas (emotional sentiments). The cluster of lotus blossoms beside the woman in the pavilion alludes to the story of Gauri Ragini, in which the heroine picks flowers, as she awaits the return of her lover. Thus the mood of vipralambha (love in separation) is evoked.
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During the mid-18th century, formal portraiture was succeeded in popularity by idealised compositions and ragamala paintings. Artists such as Muhammad Faqirallah Khan were influenced by the ragamala aesthetic. His paintings are typified by elegant women with small rosebud lips, defined noses and distinctive shading around their hair and jawlines. He worked as an eminent painter in Muhammad Shah’s court. Known as Rangila (pleasure lover), Muhammad Shah amassed an active atelier of artists and poets. However, between Nadir Shah’s invasion of Delhi in 1739 and Muhammad Shah’s death in 1748, many artists fled the city seeking patronage elsewhere. During this period Faizabad and Lucknow, the successive capitals of Oudh, emerged as major creative centres. Faqirallah Khan and his brother Faizallah both spent time in Farrukhabad, Faizabad and Lucknow, where they influenced other artists with their distinctive style. During the 1750s Faqirallah is also known to have collaborated with Fath Chand on a dispersed ragamala series, an example of which is contained at the British Library (Kakubha Ragini, Add.Or.485). The stylistic influence of Fath Chand and the Khan brothers may be identified in the current work. A preference for elegant women supporting long ghagras and immodestly covering their upper bodies with translucent fabric is typical among their repertoire. In this instance, the artist has also successfully appropriated their sensitive modelling and employment of delicate shading, adding volume to the women’s features. As the heroine pining for her lover, the artist himself may have experienced longing, driven to seek patronage in an unfamiliar city. By taking the time to familiarise ourselves with this painting, we are rewarded by the revelation of its subtle complexities. The rich Mughal aesthetic, interlaced with delicate Hindu sentiment, culminates in a work that simultaneously quenches our thirst for the sublime and the visceral. Literature: Chakraverty, Indian Miniature Painting, Lustre Press, 2005. Dallapiccola, Glynn and Skelton, Ragamala: Paintings from India, Philip Wilson Publishers, 2011. Dalrymple and Sharma, Princes and Painters in Mughal Delhi, 1707-1857, Asia Society, Yale University Press, 2012. Leach, Mughal and Other Indian Paintings form the Chester Beatty Library, Scorpion Cavendish Ltd, 1995. Losty and Roy, Mughal India, Art, Culture, Empire, The British Library, 2012. Seyller, Mughal and Deccani Paintings: The Eva and Konrad Seitz Collection of Indian Miniatures, Museum Reitburg, 2001.
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Parashurama Kills Kartavirya Arjuna
Utter Pradesh, Lucknow, circa 1780 Probably from a set of dasavatara Ink, opaque watercolour and gold on paper 29cm high, 19cm wide
One of the dasavataras, the ten principal incarnations of Vishnu, Parashurama is rarely seen in paintings compared with the more popular depictions of Krishna and his brother Balarama, Rama or even some of the earlier incarnations like Matsya (fish), Kurma (tortoise), Varaha (boar), and Narasimha (man-lion). Perhaps only Vamana (dwarf) and Kalki (horse) are less-often depicted. There are a number of stories told about Parashurama, named because of an axe (parashu), which he obtained from the god Shiva after severe penances. The scene here involves the powerful multi-armed Haihaya King Kartavirya Arjuna who, with his vast army, had visited Parashurama’s Brahman father and was given a wonderful feast. Asking how Jamadagni, Parashu’s father, had been able to offer such a feast, Jamadagni told him that he possessed a wish-fulfilling cow named Kamadhenu. There are many slightly differing versions of this tale, but effectively Kartavirya steals the cow. In some accounts he kills Parashu’s father before the scene depicted here.
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In other stories, Kartavirya Arjunas’ sons kill Jamadagni after their father dies. Parashu then battles Kartavirya and kills him. Parashu also kills many other Kshatriyas, members of the warrior caste. Some versions involve the abduction of Nandini, Kamadhenu’s calf, which accounts for the pair of mother and daughter cows observed in the background of this painting. The closest examples in terms painting style are found in two albums of Indian mythological subjects commissioned by the Swiss engineer and architect Colonel Antoine-Louis Henri Polier (1741-95) while working for the East India Company in the 1770s-80s. These two albums from the Polier collection were acquired by the collector William Beckford who later sold a portion of his library due to financial strains. On May 6th, 1817, the two volumes of paintings ‘representing the system of Indian Mythology’ were sold from the private collection of Colonel A.L.H. de Polier which were the highest paid single lot sold in the auction – hammer price of £267.15 (Gemmett, 1972, p. 52). After about 77 years and several changed owners, the Polier albums were sold to The British Museum in 1894 by Mr G. Baumgartner (Losty, 1982, p. 150). Currently, the Polier albums are housed in The British Library, London, Accession Numbers Or.4769 and Or.4770, which hold 32 folios. According to Archer, Colonel Polier had one of the finest collections of Persian, Sanskrit manuscripts and Indian miniatures (Archer, 1979, p. 142-143). The Polier albums in The British Library were likely painted by Mihr Chand, one of Polier’s commissioned artists and a leading studio painter from around 1773-86 (Roy, 2014, p. 57). As the Varaha (boar) miniature in The British Library’s collection is dressed to match the figure of Parashurama and with nearly identical painting style (light washes of colour in the background and thin shadows painted behind the figures), there is a strong probability that our Parashurama Kills Kartavirya Arjuna miniature was painted by Mihr Chand or one of his associates. Furthermore, there is a convincing prospect that this Parashurama miniature might have also been a part of one of Polier’s original group of commissioned albums which were sold off and then separated from the album at a later stage. Literature: Roy, “William Beckford’s Albums on Hindu Mythology.” The British Library, 08 December 2014. Web 03 October 2015. <http://britishlibrary.typepad.co.uk/asianand-african/2014/12/william-beckfords-albums-on-hindumythology.html>. Gemmett (ed). Sale Catalogues of Eminent Persons, Volume 3, Sotheby Park Bernet, London, 1972. Losty, The Art of the Book in India, The British Library, London, 1982. Archer, India and British Portraiture 1770-1825, Sotheby Park Bernet, London, 1979.
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Hanuman Burns Lanka
From a Ramayana series, Punjab Hills, Himachal Pradesh, Kangra, circa 1830-40 From the Sundara Kanda, Book 5 of the Ramayana Ink, opaque watercolour, and gold on paper Approx. 34cm high, 46.5cm wide
In this painting reading from the top left, we see a set of events unfolding. Having wrapped Hanumanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tail with some cloth, the rakshasas or demons march the bound Hanuman with some pomp through a gate. One even plays a drum as another one threatens him with a weapon. The demons then set Hanumanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tail alight in an effort to kill him. To their surprise he flies about Lanka and sets the entire city on fire, sparing only the house of Vibhishana, Ravanaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s good younger brother.
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The demons are quite varied in appearance underscoring the fact that all demons do not look alike. In the epic many of the rakshasas are destroyed, leaping from their homes or burning in them. Here they act in human-like gestures, first throwing up their arms watching Hanuman fly about and then trying to save their belongings by handing them out of windows. At the bottom right a rakshasi, a female demon, holds her child on her hip and directs the saving of her valuables. The fort appears to be made of gold, underscoring the wealth and power of Ravana, the king of the demons. The geometrical shapes of the architecture create interesting stage sets for the action making the story quite readable. The flames blow in the wind and Hanuman leaps from the terrace, kicking over a thin tower, adding interesting movement to the composition. Provenance: Private UK Collection
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A leaf from a manuscript of the Munajat of Khwaja ‘Abdullah Ansari Herat, c. 1450-80 21cm high, 12.5cm wide
This leaf is from a beautiful Timurid copy of the Munajat or “Litanies” of the great mystic poet and scholar Khwajah ‘Abdallah Ansari (d.1088). Khwajah ‘Abdallah was a native of Herat and the author of numerous Arabic and Persian treatises on philosophy and Sufism; the Munajat, in the form of a versified address to God, was considered Khwajah Abdallah’s masterpiece and was particularly esteemed in Timurid and Safavid Herat. Timurid Herat was almost certainly the origin of this leaf; the nast’aliq in alternating colours is a feature of the famous decoupe copy of the divan of Sultan Husayn Bayqara, which is widely held to have been copied by Sultan ‘Ali Mashhadi (see Thomas Lentz & Glenn D. Lowry, Timur and the Princely Vision, Los Angeles, 1989, Cat. No. 148; exhibition catalogue, Musée d’art et d’histoire, Geneva, 1986, p. 64; Sotheby’s 6 April 2011, Lot 41). The leaf also bears close comparison to a manuscript containing ghazals of Hafiz, which was written in different coloured inks on a light-brown coloured ground attributed to the same period (Sotheby’s 15th October 1988, Lot 46; 29th April 1998, Lot 47; 18th October 1995, Lot 72). A copy of the Gulistan of Sa’di, signed by the scribe Rustam ‘Ali Shah and dated 950/1543 (Sotheby’s 28th April 2004, Lot 30) shows that this format was still in use in the first half of the 16th century. The nasta’liq hand on the present leaf, however, is the most archaic of all three examples and would indicate that it was probably made some time in the second half of the 15th century.
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Four leaves from the Jam-e Jam of Auhadi Maraghai
Probably Mashhad or Herat, c. 1550 33cm high, 21.5cm wide
These four leaves on different coloured papers and with coloured, gold speckled borders, come from a Safavid copy of the poet Awhadi Maraghai’s (d. 1338) mystical mathnavi, Jam-e Jam, or the “Cup of Jamshid”. The hand is a beautifully even nast’aliq that can be dated to the mid-16th century. Though the illuminated cartouches for the chapter headings - left blank here - are in a generally Safavid style and cannot be attributed to a particular area, the borders probably indicate that the manuscript was made in Khurasan, the area comprising modern Eastern Iran and Western Afghanistan. For a group of manuscripts with similar borders made around the mid-16th century and attributed to the two main cultural centres in Khurasan, Mashhad and Herat, see a treatise on official correspondence (insha’) completed in 1563, a Divan of Shahi, and a copy of Jami’s Salaman va Absal, all in the Bibliothèque nationale, Paris (Francis Richard, Splendeurs Persanes, Paris, 1997, nos. 111, 113, 119).
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Four Portraits of Qutb Shahi Nobility from a dispersed album
Telangana, Golconda, circa 1680s Ink and opaque watercolour on paper highlighted with gold Approx. 24.5 cm high, 17cm wide
Ibrahim Qutb Shah
Sultan Quli Qutb Shah
Unidentified figure
Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah
Towards the end of the 17th century artists at Golconda, the capital of the Qutb Shahi dynasty, created a large number of albums depicting both Mughal and Deccani rulers and dignitaries for Europeans visiting the city. These albums all must predate the fall of the city to the Mughals in 1687. Pauline Lunsingh Scheurleer in the reference cited below listed seventeen albums that went to the Netherlands. Unbound examples in many public and private collections are probably from such muraqqa‘s. Two of these four paintings have inscriptions in nasta‘liq and Dutch. The closest paintings in style and composition to these are in the Witsen Album consisting of 46 portraits now in The Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, which is the only known album with labels in Portuguese. Other examples have Dutch, French, and Italian labels. The most accessible sets are in the British Museum which concentrate on the Mughal lineage and only the two later Qutb Shahi kings appear (acc. nos.: 1974,0617,0.2 .1.67 and 1974,0617,0.4.1-51 have full length portraits. The closest in style to our examples are 1974,0617,0.11.1-26, but they are in oval frames). Three of these paintings have virtually identical examples in the Witsen Album while the identity of the fourth is unknown. The two that are labelled are Qutb Shahi Sultans. One labelled as Bharme Malak is actually Sultan Quli Qutb Shah, a Shia Black Sheep Turkman who came to Bidar, the capital of the Bahmani Sultanate, in 1478. After the disintegration of that Sultanate, he declared his independence in 1512 and established the Qutb Shahi dynasty at Golconda where he ruled until killed by one of his sons in 1543. He is clearly called the first king of Golconda in the inscription here and also on the one in the Witsen Album, this odd title could simply mean “big lord”. The portrait bears a striking resemblance to an
oft-published painting now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art depicting the Adil Shahi lineage from Bijapur (see Zebrowski, plate XVII and ill. 118a, MMA Acc. No. 1982.213). There the portrait of Sultan Yusuf Adil Shah, the founder of that dynasty is very similar to our painting — both bearded figures are shown in three-quarter view, wear crowns, and are clad in green. There is a similar composition showing the genealogy of the Qutb Shahis in the Manucci Album in the Bibliothèque nationale in Paris, published in Scheurleer, p. 180, fig. 15. It depicts the founder enthroned in the centre with his successors to each side, all surmounted by umbrellas. The other figure in three-quarter view is that of Sultan Muhammad Qutb Shah (r. 1612-25), son of Muhammad Quli. While the pose matches the figure of this ruler in the Witsen album, the face is identical to that of Sultan Ibrahim (r. 1550-80), the son of Sultan Quli Qutb Shah who ruled after another brother had usurped the throne. Facial features in these albums are individualized so that once one has a name to attach to the figure, it is easy to identify them. Known portraits of Muhammad Qutb Shah agree with the portrait seen in profile in the Witsen album, so this must be Ibrahim. Along with the Portuguese and nasta‘liq labels there is a sketch of a male head on the reverse. A third figure matches Muhammad Quli Qutb Shah (r. 1580-1612), the son of Sultan Ibrahim in the Witsen Album. He was the founder of Hyderabad. Each of these portraits is carefully painted with elaborate fabrics and jewelled swords, daggers, and often holding flowers in a standard pose. The paintings are surrounded by a floral border which is typically seen in albums of this type. References: Lunsingh Scheurleer, “Het Witsenalbum: zeventiende-eeuwse Indiase portretten op bestelling,” Bulletin van het Rijksmuseum 44, 1996, no.3, pp. 167254 with an English summary: “The Witsen Album: 17th-century Indian portraits to order,” pp. 266-270. Zebrowski, Deccani Painting, Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983. Provenance: Private French Collection
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Grey peacock-pheasant
Calcutta, India, circa 1800 Watercolours and ink on paper 44.2cm high, 53.5cm wide (62.5cm high, 71.5cm wide framed)
The grey peacockpheasant is a large greyishbrown bird with distinctive green or blue eyespots. Although the grey peacock-pheasant is generally classified with the pheasant or peafowl family, they also include the title of peacock in their name due the similarity of the brightly coloured eyespots displayed on their feathers. This colourful grey peacock-pheasant is painted with watercolours and ink on paper watermarked J WHATMAN. On the bottom right corner there is a Persian inscription, ‘sang marvar’ which translates loosely to, ‘grey [stone] marvar’. The Persian translation of the word ‘marvar‘ represents the Indian word ‘Munowwar‘, the name for the polyplectron bicalcaratum bird, also known
as the grey peacock-pheasant, which inhabited north east India and Myanmar. One unusual feature of this painting is the raised decoration on the bird’s body, feathers and eye which appear almost life-like, probably with the use of gum arabic. A pair of Company School paintings of Indian egrets belonging to Lord Valentia (gifted by Lord Wellesley in Calcutta around 1803) which also depict birds with life-like textured feathers and a glint painted in their eyes are published in Welch, Room for Wonder: Indian Painting during the British Period 1760-1880, The American Federation of Arts, 1978, p. 58-59, pl. 18a, b and c. Provenance: Private UK Collection; acquired by the owner from a private auction in Lincoln in the 1970s.
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Model of the top section of the Qutub Minar Delhi, 19th century 54cm high
This model is made of carved hardwood and ivory in the shape of a minaret. The realistic model is depicted with minutiae of brickwork in wood and ivory with bands of Quranic inscriptions. The lower section of the model is represented with an arched doorway to the front. Inside the doorway, a small wooden circular staircase is carved within the body of the model leading up along the righthand side. The top storey of the model also has an arched door. Around the door frame are engraved inscriptions painted in black calligraphy. The Qutub Minar, the tallest sandstone brick minaret in the world, stands at 72.5 meters high. It was built in Delhi, India, 1200-1220CE, commissioned by Qutub-uddin Aibak, the founder of the Delhi Sultanate. Although Qutub-ud-din Aibak began construction of the Qutub Minar in 1200, it was not completed until 1220 by his son-in-law and successor Iltutmish, who further enhanced this structure by adding three-more storeys. In 1803 a serious earthquake in Delhi caused further damage to the longstanding monument including the original cupola of the minar which fell down. In 1828, Colonel Robert Smith oversaw the renovations for the Qutub Minar during when the ‘controversial cupola’ was added to the top. Robert Smith took it upon himself to replace the original Indo-Islamic top with a chatthri cupola (Bengali-style). This cupola was removed in 1848 under Lord Henry Hardinge. Colonel Smith’s cupola is now located on the grounds near the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque. The Qutub Minar is one of the earliest Indo-Islamic monuments in Delhi and the Qutub Complex is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This model is depicted without the controversial cupola that was added by Colonel Robert Smith in 1828. A full-size model of the Qutub Minar, Delhi, circa 1900, Accession Number EA2010.36, is in The Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic Art, Ashmolean. Another realistic model of an important Indian monument, The Mosque of Miyan Khan Chishti in Ahmedabad, is in The Victoria and Albert Museum, London, Accession Number IND IS 3-1999, 1830-70.
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Tiger palanquin India, 18th century Probably part of Tipu Sultanâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s regalia 20cm long
This hollow gilt-copper head of a tiger was most probably the finial for an elaborately decorated palanquin. Originally it would have been covered with gilt decoration and the eyes most probably inlaid with semi-precious stones. On the forehead of the tiger, there appears a boteh motif. The tiger has its mouth slightly open with its tongue protruding through ferocious teeth.
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Many members of Indian royalty used tigers as a symbol of power and the iconography of tigers appears on many royal objects. The most prolific iconographic depiction of tigers was by the court of Tipu Sultan (1750-1799), also referred to as The Tiger of Mysore. He used the tiger emblem on his weaponry and royal regalia including his throne. There are distinct similarities between the tiger motif used in Srirangapatna and this tiger head - including the depiction of the tigerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s facial features and the bubri motif engraved on its body.
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Photos: Angelo Plantamura Text: Trina Lee Johnson, Amir Mohtashemi, Dr Robert Del Bonta, Will Kwiatkowski, Christina Hales and Adrien Von Ferscht Layout: Françoise Barrier Consulting fbarrierconsulting@gmail.com Printing: Cassochrome, Waregem, Belgium February 2016 © Amir Mohtashemi Ltd AMIR MOHTASHEMI LTD 69 Kensington Church Street London W8 4BG www.amirmohtashemi.com
AMIR MOHTASHEMI 69 Kensington Church Street London W8 4BG www.amirmohtashemi.com