020-037_C46763
6/20/08
1:02 PM
Page 20
‘Designs to Suit Every Taste’ P. Orr & Sons and Swami Silverware Dipti Khera
We have recently been afforded the opportunity of inspecting several cases of silver dessert knives, forks and spoons manufactured by the well-known firm of P. Orr and Sons, Madras. The articles for most part are exceedingly massive and the workmanship is elaborate and artistic, nearly every piece of silver carries in design, and wrought to represent a heathen deity, — hence the name “Swami” work, by which this class of goods is known. The London Courier of January 30th, 18751 Except in Madras or Trichinopoly, where the debased Anglo-Indian “Swami” work is made, native jewellery is not manufactured wholesale, nor, as a rule, is the industry confined to special localities as it is in Europe. The Indian goldsmith… is never taxed to discover some “latest novelty” which may take the fancy of a capricious public. To borrow the language of European pattern books and advertisements, the native jeweller is not required (happily for Indian art) to supply “designs to suit every taste,” simply because all patterns are prescribed by immemorial custom. E.B. Havell, Superintendent, School of Arts, Madras2 Swami silver plate, with its focus on intricately chased ‘heathen deities,’ held a strangely anomalous position in India and abroad during the late 19th century. While it captivated some viewers and consumers, it also aroused strong criticism from others who considered it a sign of yielding to the inclination of producing ‘designs to suit every taste.’ Consisting predominantly of Hindu iconography grafted onto the surface of silverware (and jewelry) intended for European use, Swami silver was produced in southern India by ‘native’ jewelers and silversmiths. However, most of these silversmiths were employed in the workshops of a few European firms in colonial Madras, the primary center for the manufacture of Swami silver. European observers – the press, British administrators, art educators, and connoisseurs – focused their attention on the Hindu iconography of Swami silverware, either applauding the silversmith’s skillful workmanship or bemoaning his creation of ‘debased’ and hybrid works. Such contradictory perceptions about this silverware must be understood within the context of late 19th century debates on what constituted ‘traditional’ Indian design and craftsmanship.3 Additionally, it should be noted that there was disagreement on the relative merits and demerits of Swami jewelry as against Swami silverware. Because of the religious aesthetic apparent in its emphasis on Hindu iconography, the design of Swami silver was classified as ‘traditional,’ and most critics considered its application on jewelry to be highly successful. But when craftsmen applied the same Swami designs to silver plate, featuring these on tea sets, dessert services, claret jugs, water pitchers, platters, and goblets, they were criticized for adopting ‘foreign styles,’ by which was meant non-Indian shapes and forms. The divergent views on Swami silver seen in the London Courier and E.B. Havell’s critique were captured contemporaneously in two dissimilar types of sources, which this essay will consider. First, it will focus on the sales catalogs, brochures, and photographic albums produced from the 1870s to the 1890s by P. Orr & Sons, which provide an insight into the production of Swami silverware in a multifaceted
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Job:06-04550 Title:Delight In Design AC46763 175#SQ Dtp:209 Page:20
