ARTS OF INDIA

104
~104
A FINE SILVER REPOUSSÉ TEA SERVICE
MARKED O.M BHUJ [FOR OOMERSI MAWJI], KUTCH, INDIA, LATE
19TH CENTURY
Consisting of a teapot, a milk jug, a sugar pot and an oval tray, the vessels with
repoussé foral designs, the foot of each marked O M Bhuj, the teapot handle
with heat insulating discs of ivory, the tray with a fgural roundel at the centre
depicting a lady and her companions visiting an ascetic, the cavetto with
animal combat scenes on a ground of arabesques, the tray on three openwork
feet in the form of peacocks, the underside of the rim marked O M Bhuj
Tray 13Ω x 17æin. (34.3 x 45.2cm.); teapot 8in. (20.3cm.) high
£8,000-12,000 $12,000-17,000
€10,000-15,000
Oomersi Mawji was the court silversmith of the ruler of Kutch, Maharao
Shri Mirza Raja Sawai Khengarji Bahadurno. Kutch was a major centre
for the production of silverware in the 19th century, much of which which
was exported to Europe. Little of the vast output of Kutch pieces however
remotely approached the quality of the work of Oomersi Mawji and his sons.
~106
AN ANGLO-INDIAN EBONY AND IVORY TABLE
COROMANDEL COAST, SOUTH INDIA, 19TH CENTURY
The oval top deeply carved with foral motifs, the knees and legs realistically
carved as elephant heads, with ivory tusks
36 in. (91.5cm.) high
105
A PAIR OF BRASS-VENEERED FOOTSTOOLS
GUJARAT, NORTH WEST INDIA, CIRCA 1900
On four feet worked as lion’s paws, of square form, the veneered decoration
consisting of a large central rosette composed of interlocked palmettes and
strapwork, the borders with a garland of split-palmettes above a thin band of
foral swaying tendrils, the apron with similar decoration
9 x 19Ωx 19Ωin. (23 x 49.5 x 49.5cm.) each
£3,000-5,000 $4,300-7,100
€3,800-6,200
Our pair of footstools presents the marked characteristics of a Gujarati
maker active at the turn of the 20th century. The square shape, the marked
gadroons and deep repoussé large rosette composed of strapwork within
foliate motifs point towards the workshops of Chhaganlal and Vrajlal
Tribhuvan, sons of Raghunatu Tribhuvan, a specialist craftsman who
produced silver and brass-covered furniture. For a similar veneered example,
albeit in silver, see A. Jafer, Furniture from British India and Ceylon, London,
2001, p.312. Other footstools by this maker sold at Christie’s King Street, 22
May 2008, lot 310.
£3,000-5,000 $4,300-7,100
€3,800-6,200
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