Indian and Islamic art

Unusual Brass Table or Desk Set with Elephant Heads, Indian, first half C20th

Price: £240

This is an unusual table or desk set comprising a pair of candlesticks and a spherical censer like vessel, all made from fine quality brass, well cast, the candlesticks with a circular base with a gadroon edge on which sit three elephants' heads supporting the elaborate candlestick column with a gadroon edge drip pan at the top and an urn like candle holder above, the central vessel with a similar base supporting a near spherical container with a hinged lid, its sides modelled to match the candle holders and the lid decorated with stylised leaves and with a pine cone finial, the inside with a loose brass container and cover.

The craftsmanship of this set is self evident both in the quality and weight of the brass and the casting techniques used. Its purpose is less certain and there are no easy parallels. The central vessel might have been designed for incense (although the cover is solid rather than openwork) in which case we could have a table ornament here, but the interior of the vessel can seem to resemble an inkwell in which case we might have a desk set. It's new owner will have to decide! Style of decoration suggests India in the early part of the C20th and this set would then be one of the many pieces exported to the Britain from India at that time and which became very much a feature of contemporary domestic interiors.

LOT 9

Egyptian Silver Pill Box with Mother of Pearl Inlay, marked, second half C20th

Estimate: £30 – 40

11d 22h 47m

£0.00

Indian wooden toy model of a Horse with metal fitments, early C20th

Price: £25

This is an amusing wood model of a horse, its right leg raised and the head looking expectantly forwards, the finely grained wood with metal fitments in brass and copper representing the ears, muzzle, saddle, saddle bags and tail, all with fine detailing and small nail fastenings. Many examples exist of these wood and metal horse figures which are usually held to have been made in India at Jodphur, Rajastan, in the early C20th. Presumably more intended for the local colonial audience these pieces have an obvious and wider appeal. The smaller sizes were probably intended as toys and perhaps the original owner of this piece played with it a little too vigorously which might explain the damage to the right front leg!

Indian wooden toy model of a Horse with metal fitments, early C20th

Price: £25

LOT 5

Four Papier-mâché Trinket Boxes, Kashmir, mid C20th

Estimate: £20 – 30

11d 22h 39m

£0.00

Large Islamic silver necklace with heart shaped box c1920

Price: £85

This is a very large statement necklace comprising a detailed pendant that is a tubular piece set with malachites stones with handing drops. There is a very large hard shaped pendant attached that is a box with a red fabric interior. This may have some religious signficance such as a prayer box. This is set with beautiful agate stone that is also heart shaped. The pandant has filigree work on both the pieces of the pendant. It comes with its original herringbone style chain. This does not appear to be silver like the pendant. The pendant is 800 silver so a slightly lower grade fo 925 or sterling silver.

Fine quality pair of Brass Cobra Candlesticks, Indian first half C20th

Price: £95

A pair of brass candlesticks cast as two Cobra snakes with twisting tails acting as the feet with the bodies rising up erect from them, the stylised heads supporting the candle sconces and serrated edge drip pans. There are many examples of Indian made candlesticks cast in a similar form where the brass metal is combined with enamel decoration. This pair, lacking even incised detail to the metal surface as can occur, are much more unusual and striking in their simplicity. The brass itself is high quality and the pieces have a good weight. It is as if the Indian workmen have tried to adapt themselves to the angular simplicity of the Art Deco style. Unlike their more heavily decorated contemporaries, this pair of snakes would not have looked out of place in an Art Deco themed European interior. Dating is therefore quite reasonably to the 1920s or 1930s. Arresting in their time, these two Cobra snakes would deservedly attract attention today.

Indian tribal necklace, 19th century

Price: £175

This is a very unusual and rare tribal necklace that is from India, most likely from the Rajasthan region. It features a large silver disc with a free form design, This is strung with a necklace that has thousands of garnet beads. The pendant is marked 925 which indicates that it was exported to the west.

Metropolitan Museum of Art Egyptian Hieroglyphic wall plaque c2000

Price: £20

This is a very detailed plaque that depicts an Egyptian owl. It is a replica from Tutenkhamun's tomb that was issued by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

LOT 7

Silver Cricket Box, Islamic probably Persian, early C20th

Estimate: £50 – 80

11d 22h 43m

£0.00

LOT 8

Indian Silver and Enamel pill or trinket Box, early C20th

Estimate: £40 – 60

11d 22h 45m

£0.00

Stunning Amber and Islamic silver necklace

Price: £45

This is a very beautiful necklace comprising silver filigree stations with amber beads both yellow and cherry, tested as amber

Persian Painting on Silk depicting Courtiers in a Palace Scene, C19th/C20th

Price: £75

A finely detailed painting on silk depicting court figures in a palace scene with fountains to the front and a mountainous forest to the rear, the border with scrolling foliage. The work is typical of that produced by Persian artists and the scene bears a close resemblance (lacking the patient lying on the floor) to a work entitled ‘The Physicians Duel’ which depicts a scene from the Khamsa by Nizami Ghanjavi and is included in the British Museum collection.

The ‘Khamsa’ (Quintet or Quinary) is the best known work of Nizami Ghanjavi (c1141 – 1209) considered the greatest romantic epic poet in Persian literature. It comprises five long narrative poems the first of which is ‘Makhzan-ol-Asrar’ (The Treasury or Storehouse of Mysteries) and contains an episode where two physicians agree to fight each other with poison: each would give the other a poison and the doctors would then attempt, by their skill, to provide an antidote. One doctor succeeds but the other has less luck and in the version of the scene mentioned above is depicted lying ill on the ground.

The Khamsa was a popular subject for lavish manuscripts illustrated with painted miniatures at the Persian and Mughal courts in later centuries. The British Museum picture mentioned above, for example, comes from a manuscript created for the Mughal Emperor Akbar in the 1590s. Scenes from these works were then copied or adapted in turn by Persian artists in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries which is what we have here. The quality of the execution remains high producing a highly decorative example of the best Persian work.

Persian silver bracelet with inset enamel plaques, c1930

Price: £125

This is a rare bracelet comprising silver stations set with domed enamel plaques. The plaques have bird and floral designs and are set in silver with an integrated clasp with floral detail. The piece is unmarked but would be 800 silver. It is in excellent condition which makes it even more unique as these types of bracelet tend to have damage. The size and decoration of the plaques contribute to an elegant piece of traditional 'arm candy'!

Three Indian Brass hanging plates, Thanjavur, C20th

Price: £55

Three circular brass wall plates, similarly decorated, with central designs of deities surrounded by panels of birds and scrolling foliage, all worked in high relief, the backs with rings for hanging and one with an engraved mark ‘INDIA’.

The style of decoration here is typical of the art brass hanging plaques produced by the metalworkers of Thanjavur, formerly known as Tanjore, from the late eighteenth century onwards. A Tanjore Art Plate consists of three components: the base plate (brass), a circular central relief panel of a deity worked in silver surrounded by relief panels in copper and silver often depicting flowers. Various deities are depicted here including the well known many armed Shiva. All the reliefs have milled borders but the wells are finished differently, some with engraved designs and one with circular bosses. Dating is probably to the mid C20th but the style of these pieces was continuous and relatively unchanging so an earlier period of manufacture is quite possible.

NB Stands for display purposes only and not included

Gouache Painting of a Court Figure Scene, Indian or Persian, C20th

Price: £45

A painting on silk depicting finely detailed figures at court within an elaborate architectural setting, edged with a simple gilt frame and surrounded by a green ground floral border. The style of painting here is typical of Persian work which was then translated into India and often adopted by artists working in the ‘Mughal’ style. In the late C19th and C20th, many individual scenes were created, some deriving from the book illustrations of Persian romance, and all essentially intended as decorative items for framing. This painting is a typical example of the best work created and is further enhanced by the contemporary frame and silver effect corner mounts.

LOT 1

Indian Carved Wood Tobacco Jar with Jungle Scene, mid C20th

Estimate: £20 – 30

11d 22h 31m

£0.00

Unique 40 strand micro coral bead necklace, India 1910

Price: £85

This is a totally unique necklace comprising forty strands of perfectly worked coral beads to create a dense bib effect. It has a clasp that is a hammered Edward VII British India copper coin that dates from circa 1910. This necklace ends in woven panels.

An Octagonal Brass Tray with a roundel of an elephant, probably Persian early C20th

Price: £45

An octagonal Brass Tray with a short squared rim and a wide central well decorated with panels of sylised floral designs in various shapes all interlinked by narrow bands in milled edge decoration, the well with repeating geometric pattern borders and the centre with a raised design of a well modelled elephant standing amidst palm trees. The reverse plain and unpolished. The techniques employed here include repoussé and chased work, but with the addition of niello work where a black metallic alloy is employed as a background to other metal working techniques. Some of the elements of the design, particularly the borders and the central roundel of an elephant can look Indian but the floral work and use of colour is much more typical of Persian decoration and this is most likely what we have here, probably an early twentieth century creation intended as a tourist souvenir. Doubtless designed as a serving tray, this piece functions well as a decorative object for the wall which is why it was later given a soldered hanging fixture.

A Mughal style Gouache Painting depicting a Dignitary and Attendants, C20th

Price: £75

A Mughal style gouache painting, the central roundel depicting a court figure scene with a dignitary seated in a pavilion surrounded by attendants, all within a walled enclosure, and the blue ground border with four further attendants, seated, with gilt foliage decoration. Gouache paint is similar to watercolour, but is modified to make it opaque. It was commonly used by Persian artists from the thirteenth century onwards. The style of painting here, though, suggests a dating to the C20th and Indian work in the Mughal Court style which was derived from Persian artists. The frame is modern.

A Large Islamic Pewter Ewer, C20th

Price: £45

A pewter ewer with a globular shape body above a flaring foot, rising to a slender neck with a collar and slightly flaring out at the top, the conical lid hinged and with a knop finial, an ‘S’ curved handle to the reverse and a slender tapering spout with a zoomorphic terminal, the whole decorated with bands of impressed stylised foliage. The form of this ewer is typical of middle eastern designs and occurs in a multitude of variants adopting the same basic format. Provenance and dating are uncertain but a Turkish origin seems likely, perhaps from the mid C20th. The use of pewter rather than brass gives a slightly rustic feel and enhances the middle eastern origins of the piece.