Simon Ray Catalogue 2021

SIMON RAY INDIAN & ISLAMIC WORKS OF ART

SIMON RAY INDIAN & ISLAMIC WORKS OF ART

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SIMON RAY INDIAN & ISLAMIC WORKS OF ART

1 NOVEMBER 2021 TO 30 NOVEMBER 2021

BY APPOINTMENT

Dedicated to Phoenix and Ailla who showed great patience while I worked on the catalogue

A C K N O W L E D G E M E N T S It is with great pleasure that I present this twenty-first catalogue of Simon Ray Indian & Islamic Works of Art, which I hope you will enjoy.

I would like to thank the scholars and experts who have so kindly and generously helped us prepare this catalogue: Jerry Losty, Andrew Topsfield, Will Kwiatkowski, Lisa Golombek, Robert Mason and B. N. Goswamy.

Leng Tan has written the catalogue descriptions for the paintings and works of art. Leng writes in a lyrical and communicative way that reveals the many beauties that lie within each object.

William Edwards has written the sculpture and ceramic entries with great enthusiasm and expertise. In particular, he communicates his passion for Iznik ceramics as well as European revivals, which express the European fascination with the Middle-East and Islamic art in the 19th century.

I would like to thank the following for their expertise in the installation and display of the works of art: Colin Bowles, Louise Macann, Helen Loveday, Caroline Turner and Tim Blake.

Finally, I would like to thank Richard Valencia for his wonderful photography that makes each object glow on the page; Richard Harris for his superb repro, colour preparation and scans of the paintings to capture their beauty. It is Peter Keenan’s stunning catalogue design that brings together and so beautifully illustrates these works of art.

Simon Ray

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Gandhara Stucco Heads

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Mughal Tiles

14

Safavid Tiles

22

Qajar Tiles

32

Camel Hook

42

Damascus Tiles

44

Iznik Tiles

56

Maiolica Albarelli Jars

66

Iznik Revival Ceramics

70

Rock Crystal Cup & Cover

78

Indian Metalwork

82

Sandalwood Document Box

90

Indian Paintings

98

Company School Paintings

112

Ottoman Brocade

118

1 C R O W N E D B O D H I S AT T VA H E A D Gandhara , 4th/5th century

dynasty, worked with soft mottled red sandstone, to produce a more abstracted but also more sensual and earthy style. This head exhibits the heightened naturalism of Gandharan sculpture through the elongated face and long and fluid neck which combine to suggest a dating to the fourth or fifth century.

Height: 12.4 cm Width: 7.5 cm Depth: 9.2 cm

A pale off-white stucco head with traces of red pigment depicting a bodhisattva, finely modelled with an elaborate crown and looking down and slightly to his right.

The Gandhara region covered a large part of modern day north-western Pakistan and eastern Afghanistan.

The sculpture of Gandhara is a cosmopolitan hybrid combining Hellenistic or Greco-Roman, Indian, Iranian and central Asian styles with mainly Buddhist iconography. By the end of the first century these aesthetic traditions had developed cohesively into a distinctive and recognisable style. Sculptures in stone, usually schist, are considered to predate those modelled more easily from malleable stucco and terracotta, although all these materials were used from an early date, so dates suggested for the sculptures of this period must be regarded as tentative.

He has an oval face, with deep-set almond-shaped eyes, and wears a faint smile as he looks at a sight unseen, as if he has just been interrupted. He has a long, straight nose above full and rounded lips, with both attributes showing traces of original terracotta paint. He wears an ornate crown with a stylised central fan, secured by thick bands to either side. Below, large curls of hair fall over the tops of his ears. Further pigment can be seen to his crown.

This fine head of a bodhisattva demonstrates the concern of the later Gandharan artists with the naturalistic modelling of features in realistic detail. In comparison, the stone sculptors of Mathura, the other major school of the Kushan

For a similar example, see W. Zwalf, A Catalogue of the Gandhara Sculpture in the British Museum, Volume II, 1996, p. 317, pl. 599.

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B O D H I S AT T VA H E A D

BUDDHA HEAD

Gandhara, 4th/5th century

Gandhara, 4th/5th century

Height: 9.9 cm Width: 7.2 cm Depth: 7.5 cm

Height: 8.4 cm Width: 5.5 cm Depth: 6.5 cm

A pale off-white stucco head with traces of red pigment depicting a bodhisattva, finely modelled and looking down and slightly to his left.

A pale off-white stucco head of the Buddha, finely modelled and looking down, painted with traces of red pigment.

He has an oval face, with deep-set almond-shaped eyes, and looks calmly downwards, as if lost in thought. He has a long, straight nose showing traces of original terracotta paint around the nostrils, below which full and prominent lips are also vibrantly painted. Traces of pigment can also be found in the creases of his neck. Remains of his pleated hair can be seen to the top of his head, with a thick band securing it around his forehead.

The Buddha has an oval face, with deep-set almond-shaped eyes, and looks down to the ground, as if deep in contemplation. He has a long, straight nose above full and rounded lips, with both attributes showing traces of original terracotta paint.

His thick curling hair is tied to the top in an usnisha, forming a widow’s peak below. He also displays an urna mark painted in terracotta above the bridge of his nose, confirming that he is the Buddha himself.

For similar examples, see W. Zwalf, A Catalogue of the Gandhara Sculpture in the British Museum, Volume II, 1996, pp. 317-320.

For similar examples, see W. Zwalf, A Catalogue of the Gandhara Sculpture in the British Museum, Volume II, 1996, pp. 296-309.

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4

5

B O D H I S AT T VA H E A D

C R O W N E D B O D H I S AT T VA H E A D

Gandhara, 4th/5th century

Gandhara, 4th/5th century

Height: 8.8 cm Width: 5.5 cm Depth: 6.5 cm

Height: 7.5 cm Width: 6 cm Depth: 6.5 cm

A pale off-white stucco head with traces of red pigment depicting a bodhisattva, finely modelled with a fanned headdress, decorative band and looking slightly to his right.

A pale off-white stucco head with traces of red pigment of a bodhisattva, finely modelled and looking down and slightly to his right

He has an oval face, with deep-set almond-shaped eyes, and wears a broad smile as he looks at a sight unseen, as if recently disturbed. He has a straight and slightly pointed nose above full and rounded lips, with both attributes showing traces of original terracotta paint. His hair is gathered to the top in a decorative fan and a thick band below secures the rest of his wavy locks.

He has a rounded face, with deepset almond-shaped eyes, and looks calmly down, his mouth showing traces of a faint smile. He has a long, straight nose above full and rounded lips, with both attributes showing traces of original terracotta paint. He wears an elaborate crown with a stylised central fan above a decorative band with a roundel to each side painted in terracotta coloured pigment.

For a similar example, see W. Zwalf, A Catalogue of the Gandhara Sculpture in the British Museum, Volume II, 1996, p. 317, pl. 599.

For a similar example, see W. Zwalf, A Catalogue of the Gandhara Sculpture in the British Museum, Volume II, 1996, p. 317, pl. 599.

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6

7

C R O W N E D B O D H I S AT T VA H E A D

C R O W N E D B O D H I S AT T VA H E A D

Gandhara, 4th/5th century

Gandhara, 4th/5th century

Height: 7.5 cm Width: 5 cm Depth: 5 cm

Height: 8.5 cm Width: 6 cm Depth: 5.5 cm

A pale off-white stucco head with traces of red pigment depicting a bodhisattva, finely modelled and looking down and slightly to his right

A pale off-white stucco head of a bodhisattva, finely modelled and looking down and slightly to his right.

He has an oval face, with deep-set almond-shaped eyes, and looks down at a sight unseen, as if he has just been disturbed. His calming smile indicates he is not perturbed by this interruption. He has a long, straight nose above full and rounded lips and wears an elaborate crown with a stylised central fan all tied together at the back in a bow. Touches of terracotta pigment highlight the crown, especially to the back.

He has an oval face, with deep-set almond-shaped eyes, and looks calmly downwards and to the right, as if lost in thought. He has a long, straight nose, below which are prominent bow-shaped lips. A spectacular amount of thick hair is looped into a large knotted bow to the top, and semi-circular loops below surround his temple and forehead. A single earring hangs down from his left ear.

For a similar example, see W. Zwalf, A Catalogue of the Gandhara Sculpture in the British Museum, Volume II, 1996, p. 317, pl. 599.

For similar examples, see W. Zwalf, A Catalogue of the Gandhara Sculpture in the British Museum, Volume II, 1996, pp. 317-320.

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8 H E A D O F VA J R A PA N I Gandhara, 4th/5th century Height: 9 cm Width: 6 cm Depth: 8 cm

A stucco head of a male figure, carved with large rounded eyes, a wide nose and prominent moustache. He has fulsome cheeks which create creases just above his fine and thick facial hair. Remains of terracotta pigment can be seen to his fleshy face adding a further air of naturalism to an already portraitlike depiction. The expression on his modelled face is one of quiet determination. Above, an oval disc is attached to a band which secures his thick hair. The fuller face and prominent moustache suggest that he could be a representation of Vajrapani.

Vajrapani, means “Holder of the Vajra” and the original sculpture from which this head came from would probably have depicted him clutching his vajra (thunderbolt).

Vajrapani is also considered the guardian of the Elixir of Life and was often worshipped as the Rain God,

and a protector against snakes and snake bites.1 He is the personification of wisdom (prajna), which is conceived of as one half of the state of Buddhahood.2 He represents the power of all the Buddhas, the removal of obstacles, and the conquest of negativity through fierce determination, symbolised by the vajra he holds.3 This head of Vajrapani would probably have been part of a larger frieze, acting as an attendant flanking the Buddha to one side. Sculptures of Vajrapani carrying his vajra and standing next to the Buddha are illustrated in Sir John Marshall, The Buddhist Art of Gandhara: The Story of the Early School: Its Birth, Growth and Decline, 1960, pl. 38, fig. 61; pl.

40, fig. 63; and pl. 42, fig. 66. A similar head can also be seen in Isao Kurita, Gandharan Art II: The World of The Buddha, 2003, p. 126, pl. 348.

References: 1. Meher McArthur, Reading Buddhist Art, 2002, p. 57.

2. Susan L. Huntington, The Art of Ancient India, 1985, p. 155.

3. Meher McArthur, Reading Buddhist Art, 2002, p. 57.

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B O D H I S AT T VA H E A D

B O D H I S AT T VA H E A D

HEAD OF A BEARDED ASCETIC

Gandhara, 4th/5th century

Gandhara, 4th/5th century

Gandhara, 4th/5th century

Height: 8.2 cm Width: 6 cm Depth: 6.5 cm

Height: 8.5 cm Width: 6 cm Depth: 6.5 cm

Height: 8.3 cm Width: 6 cm Depth: 10 cm

A pale brown stucco head of a male figure, possibly a bodhisattva, finely modelled and looking slightly to his left.

A pale off-white stucco head with traces of red pigment depicting a bodhisattva, finely modelled and looking slightly to his left.

A dark yellow stucco head of a male figure, finely modelled and looking slightly to the left. He sports a spectacular voluminous moustache and wears a turban knotted at the front.

He has a rounded face, with deep-set and slightly bulging almond-shaped eyes, and stares out towards the viewer almost expressionless. He has a long, straight nose above a bowshaped mouth with full and rounded lips. His thick wavy hair is tied, plaited and secured with a band. A fan shaped bunch of hair rises above.

His hair is tied in such a way to indicate he is a bodhisattva, but the bulging eyes and fuller face perhaps suggest other possible attributions.

This head demonstrates the concern of the later Gandharan artists with the naturalistic modelling of features in realistic detail.

He has a rounded face, with deep-set almond-shaped eyes, his mouth showing traces of a faint smile as he calmly looks at something out of view. He has a long, straight nose above a bow-shaped mouth with full and rounded lips. His thick wavy hair is tied and plaited, with large curls framing his face, the hair secured in a thick band with a decorative terracotta coloured rosette to the front.

For similar examples, see W. Zwalf, A Catalogue of the Gandhara Sculpture in the British Museum, Volume II, 1996, pp. 317-320.

For similar examples, see W. Zwalf, A Catalogue of the Gandhara Sculpture in the British Museum, Volume II, 1996, pp. 317-320.

He has a fleshy oval face, with deepset and slightly bulging eyes, looking left as if disturbed by something. He has a short wide nose above a thick moustache which hides his mouth below. Flowing hair falls down to either side covering his ears, and above, a cloth turban covers his head, tied at the front in a large knot. Traces of pigment remain in places highlighting the face further. The head would have been part of a figure forming a scene depicting a story or jataka decorating the side of a temple or palace. He could possibly be an ascetic but any attribution cannot be conclusive.

For a similar figure, see Isao Kurita, Gandharan Art II: The Buddha’s Life Story, 2003, p.190, pl. 381.

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12 SAZ LEAF AND SCROLLING VINES northern india (muGhal, probably lahore or Kashmir), 17th century tile panel: heiGht 20.4 cm Width 39.5 cm each tile: heiGht: 20.4 cm Width: 19.7 cm

A pair of tiles in the cuerda seca technique with a design of two contrasting arabesque vines from which sprout stylised flowers and leaves. The tiles are painted in rich, sumptuous glazes of warm orangey ochre, green, aubergine and cobalt blue heightened with accents of very pale lilac against a vibrant yellow ground. The main field contains bold composite flowers and leaves on an aubergine vine, languidly unfurling against the sunny yellow ground.

This is surmounted by an integral border with a tautly sprung yellow vine on a green ground framed by orange borders, formally arranged and punctuated by delicate flowers and leaves. The contrasting rhythms, colours and motifs of the two scrolling vines result in a delightful visual syncopation.

The superbly lyrical design begins in the tile on the left. A softly serrated saz leaf scrolls diagonally from the lower right corner of the tile on a vine that continues in a sweeping curve below the upper green border.

The saz leaf is filled with a tier of flower buds along its central vein. To the left of the saz leaf is an elaborate floral spray composed of three flowers on their stems

surmounted by a tier of floral buds, also arranged on a curve. To the left edge is a large flower with radiating bi-coloured petals and pale lilac central veins. On the right edge, the design continues into the tile on the right with an inverted tiered floral spray with triple stems that straddles both the tiles.

This inverted floral spray is in turn mirrored on the opposite edge of the right tile with an identical inverted floral spray. The confronted floral sprays flank an overblown lotus to the centre with serrated orange petals, superimposed with a luxuriant pomegranate. The aubergine pomegranate is boldly outlined in yellow and rests on a serrated green calyx.

The saz leaf in this panel shows the influence of Ottoman designs. A Mughal tile with a similar design to the left tile but with a reverse design and the saz leaf sweeping diagonally to the right is in the David Collection, Copenhagen.

A Mughal tile in the British Museum with a saz leaf of similar Ottoman inspiration, within an arabesque of lotuses and split-leaf palmettes, is illustrated in Venetia Porter, Islamic Tiles, 1995, p. 91, fig. 83.

The brilliant colours of Mughal tiles in this panel show an obvious Safavid

influence, as do many of the other arts of the period. The range of colours is similar to the haft rangi (seven coloured) tiles of Safavid Persia, using the same range of colours that gave those of Persia their name, but applied with a characteristic Indian warmth of palette.

The use of the cuerda seca technique would also have been learnt from Safavid tile-makers. In this technique, the design is outlined on the fired tile with a manganese purple pigment mixed with a greasy substance, which separates the areas to be coloured.

These are then painted with a brush and the tile is fired a second time.

The greasy lines disappear, leaving a dark brownish outline separating the different colours.1 Cuerda seca, literally meaning “dry cord” in Spanish, was developed during the latter part of the fourteenth century in Central Asia.

These magnificent Mughal tiles display the typical diversity of sources that make up Mughal art. Despite the Safavid and Ottoman influences, it was the Mughal love of floral motifs, in particular during the reign of Shah Jahan, which most profoundly influenced the designs of the period.

Mughal tiles with similar colours are in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, some of which can be seen on display at the Nehru Gallery.

Reference: 1. See Robert Skelton et al, The Indian Heritage: Court Life and Arts under Mughal Rule, 1982, pp. 26-27, nos. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, for a discussion of Mughal tiles in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.

13 F LOW E R S A N D B U D S O N S C R O L L I N G V I N E S Northern India (Mughal, probably Lahore or Kashmir), 17th century Height: 19.5 cm Width: 12.3 cm

A tile in the cuerda seca technique painted in warm, mellow shades of green, orange and purplish cobalt blue against a buttery yellow ground, highlighted by white and crisply outlined by the dark manganese brown of the glaze technique. The distinctive narrow form of the tile and the relaxed symmetry of the vertically elongated composition, combine to present a charming scene of unfurling buds and justopening flowers.

The organic growth begins with a single saffron bud hanging pendant from the top of the tile, dangling from a leaf cluster into the bifurcated space between two addorsed blue flowers with softly serrated leaves on their contrastingly formal vines that resemble scrolling metalwork sconce brackets. The petals of the purplish blue flowers have white tips. This is the white slip with which the red earthenware body of the tile is coated before the glazes are applied. The technique is to apply the pigments just short of the petal edges, so that a white outline of slip is left as a frame, softening the petals with a delicate naturalism. The robust solidity of the petals evaporates, and in its place lingers the fragile fragrance of soft, gossamer blossoms.

The green stems emerge from an architectural element consisting of a horizontal cartouche punctuated by a pendant trefoil palmette. The strapwork cartouche introduces an architectural element and a hint of formal order into the floriated garden

scene, as if nature is controlled in its abundance by the tending hand of the gardener, royal or divine. From the tip of the trefoil hangs a purple hyacinth. The architectural elements are flanked by hints of rebellious nature from the edges of the tile: simple green leaves and saffron buds with white outlines. The downward cascade of floral elements is met by the upward thrust of the serrated flowers and their stems, so that the tile is a balance of opposing forces that enliven the formal rigour of the design with the very sap of life itself.

This tile relates closely in design, colours, technique and stylistic treatment of the flowers and leaves, including the distinctive white outline of the petals, to a group of tiles in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London said to come from the tomb of the saint Shah Madani at But Kadal, Zabidal, near Srinagar in Kashmir. The tiles were acquired from Mr Frederick H. Andrews in 1923. He had been living in Srinagar, where he was the Director of the Technical Institute of Kashmir, and wrote to the museum in 1922 offering to sell his collection before he left that year to return to the United Kingdom. He said that the tiles were part of the decoration of the Madani mosque and tomb but the Victoria and Albert Museum believe that though the tiles were installed in a Kashmiri monument, they were probably made in Lahore.

The tiles at the tomb of Shah Madani show similarities of design and colour to the present example. According to Rosemary Crill, the tomb dates from the mid fifteenth century, but it was refurbished by a Mughal nobleman during the reign of Shah Jahan, when tiles in the cuerda seca technique were installed.1 Thirteen tiles from

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Shah Madani in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum were exhibited and published in Robert Skelton et al, The Indian Heritage: Court Life and Arts under Mughal Rule, 1982, pp. 26-27, no. 5.

A group of thirteen closely related Mughal tiles, also from Shah Madani, forming part of the donation of Jean et Krishnâ Riboud in the Musée Guimet, Paris, is published in Amina Okada, L’Inde des Princes: La donation et Jean et Krishnâ Riboud, 2000, pp. 128-133.

The Riboud tiles at the Guimet have designs closely related to the present tile as well as to the group at the Victoria and Albert Museum, with white margins to the flowers and bicoloured treatment of leaves.

A cuerda seca tile at the British Museum in London is also clearly from the same group as it exemplifies characteristics of the Shah Madani tiles from both the other museum collections. Like our tile, it has a yellow ground and floral motifs with white edges emerging from a spiralling vine (1856,1216.1). This tile was given to the British Museum in 1856 by the artist William Carpenter, who travelled to and lived in India for six or seven years in the 1850s. The British Museum website informs us that this is one of three tiles found in Kashmir by Carpenter and acquired from him as a gift by the museum in 1856. This information corroborates the Kashmiri information provided to the Victoria and Albert Museum by Frederick Andrews and confirms the site of Shah Madani proposed by all the museums.

Reference: 1. See Robert Skelton et al, The Indian Heritage: Court Life and Arts under Mughal Rule, 1982, pp. 26-27, nos. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, for a discussion of Mughal tiles in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.

14 F L O W E R S A N D L E AV E S O N S C R O L L I N G V I N E S Northern India (Mughal, probably Lahore or Kashmir), 17th century Height: 19.2 cm Width: 17.6 cm

A tile in the cuerda seca technique painted in warm, mellow shades of bright apple green, orange, aubergine and purplish blue against a buttery yellow ground, highlighted by white and outlined by the dark manganese brown of the glaze technique. The lyrical design consists of two gently scrolling vines bearing flowers and variegated leaves. The vines wind languidly into the centre of the tile where they do not meet but are joined by a rectangular strapwork cartouche, ornamented by buds along its length and knop finials at the ends. The cartouche introduces an architectural element and a hint of formal order into the floriated garden scene, as if nature is controlled in its abundance by the tending hand of the gardener.

The aubergine vine and calyx on the left of the design terminates with a luxuriant flower with tricoloured petals, saffron on top and aubergine underneath. The petals have a distinctive white margin, which is the white slip with which the earthenware body is covered before the application of other colours. The technique is to apply the coloured glazes just short of the edges of the petals outlined by the cuerda seca, so that a soft marginal halo effect is achieved by the still visible white slip. The robust solidity of the petals evaporates, and in its place lingers the fragile fragrance of soft, gossamer blossoms. The combination of colours and the white

outlines contour the petals to give them a concave cup shape. The vine emerges on the lower left from a soft cluster of petals.

The short vine on the right links two serrated split-leaf palmettes. The upper palmette is in apple green while the lower has two bifurcated fronds in saffron rising from a double trefoil calyx of inner saffron and outer aubergine edged with white.

This tile relates closely in design, colours, technique and stylistic treatment of the flowers and leaves, including the distinctive white outline of the petals, to a group of tiles in the Victoria and Albert Museum in London said to come from the tomb of the saint Shah Madani at But Kadal, Zabidal, near Srinagar in Kashmir. The tiles were acquired from Mr Frederick H. Andrews in 1923. He had been living in Srinagar, where he was the Director of the Technical Institute of Kashmir, and wrote to the museum in 1922 offering to sell his collection before he left that year to return to the United Kingdom. He said that the tiles were part of the decoration of the Madani mosque and tomb but the Victoria and Albert Museum believe that though the tiles were installed in a Kashmiri monument, they were probably made in Lahore.

The tiles at the tomb of Shah Madani show similarities of design and colour to the present example. According to Rosemary Crill, the tomb dates from the mid fifteenth century, but it was refurbished by a Mughal nobleman during the reign of Shah Jahan, when tiles in the cuerda seca technique were installed.1 Thirteen tiles from Shah Madani in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum were exhibited and published in Robert

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Skelton et al, The Indian Heritage: Court Life and Arts under Mughal Rule, 1982, pp. 26-27, no. 5.

A group of thirteen closely related Mughal tiles, also from Shah Madani, forming part of the donation of Jean et Krishnâ Riboud in the Musée Guimet, Paris, is published in Amina Okada, L’Inde des Princes: La donation et Jean et Krishnâ Riboud, 2000, pp.

128-133. The Riboud tiles at the Guimet have designs closely related to the present tile as well as to the group at the Victoria and Albert Museum, with white margins to the flowers and bi-coloured treatment of leaves.

A cuerda seca tile at the British Museum in London is also clearly from the same group as it exemplifies characteristics of the Shah Madani tiles from both the other museum collections. Like our tile, it has a yellow ground and floral motifs with white edges emerging from a spiralling vine (1856,1216.1). This tile was given to the British Museum in 1856 by the artist William Carpenter, who travelled to and lived in India for six or seven years in the 1850s. The British Museum website informs us that this is one of three tiles found in Kashmir by Carpenter and acquired from him as a gift by the museum in 1856. This information corroborates the Kashmiri information provided to the Victoria and Albert Museum by Frederick Andrews and confirms the site of Shah Madani proposed by all the museums.

Reference: 1. See Robert Skelton et al, The Indian Heritage: Court Life and Arts under Mughal Rule, 1982, pp. 26-27, nos. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, for a discussion of Mughal tiles in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum.

15 A R A B E S Q U E S A N D C A R N AT I O N Iran (Safavid), 17th century Height: 24 cm Width: 24 cm

A tile in the cuerda seca technique with a complex design of interlocking arabesques and a single large floral spray in hues of cobalt blue, black, brown, yellow, turquoise and green against a white ground.

The crisp white ground is rare in Safavid tiles of this era and creates a boldness of colour and design which adds to the charm of the tile.

A Safavid tile with part of a similar cartouche can be seen in our Simon Ray Indian & Islamic Works of Art catalogue of November 2013, p. 42, cat. no. 15.

Provenance: Formerly in the collection of Château de Boursault

Forming part of what would have been a tile panel with a much larger floral scene, this single tile is filled with rich cobalt blue scrolling tendrils set against a bold yellow ground. Further split-leaf palmettes with white centres combine with the tendrils to collectively form an impressive flowing cartouche. Three small stylised floral motifs pierce the cartouche; two cusped sprays in turquoise and sage green and a single brown leaf to the bottom right corner.

To the upper left of the tile and framing the large curving cartouche, the white ground contains a large single multi-coloured composite carnation, its five cusped petals in cobalt blue with yellow centres surrounding an inner brown rosette with a yellow bud. A single brown leaf emerges above, and below the turquoise calyx connects the spray to an arcing cobalt stem, where a pair of addorsed crocus-like flowers can be seen above two saz leaves.

Galerie Kevorkian, Paris, 5 November 2005 European Private Collection

16 PENSIVE COURTIER iran (safavid), 17th century heiGht: 25.4 cm Width: 24.2 cm

A tile in the cuerda seca technique with a charming design of a courtier standing under a tree. The courtier wears an elaborate green and white striped turban under a conical yellow and turquoise hat with a lavender pompom to the top. He seems deep in thought, the index finger he places on his mouth a conventional gesture of wonder and amazement. His large, expressive eyes and finely shaped brows, delicate mouth and chin, are all shaded with painterly refinement, bringing his fine features to vivid life. Curling locks of hair that emerge from under his turban cascade down the nape of his neck and frame his face to either side. His elegant fingers are particularly beautiful and are drawn with great poise.

The rapt attention with which the courtier ponders his philosophical question or romantic conundrum infuses the image with an enigmatic, lyrical quality.

Arching over the courtier are the turquoise branches of a tree, bearing flowers with large black and white petals and smaller yellow petals, accompanied by variegated single or bi-coloured leaves in yellow, green and lavender, seen to splendid

effect against the rich cobalt blue ground. The vigorous thrust of the branches, the sparkling vivacity of the abundant blossoms, and the energy of the twisting and turning leaves, create an explosion of colour and movement above the quiet and pensive courtier. To the lower right edge of the tile can be seen the green pompom of another courtier’s hat.

This superbly refined seventeenth century Safavid figurative tile may be confidently attributed to the hand of the great Safavid tile-maker called the “Master of the Faces” by Sophie Makariou, or to his workshop.

Several of this master artist’s superb tiles, all displaying his clear, firm signature style, have been sold at Simon Ray and Spink. They constitute the very best group of Safavid tiles, combining steady assured cuerda seca outlines with bold, imaginative compositions and brilliant colours faultlessly applied.

As Makariou notes in her description of a tile in the Musée Louvre, Paris, decorated by the “Master of the Faces” with a woman carrying two vases: “The similarity in the drawing of the faces on such tiles…is indeed very striking, but it is above all the quality of the brushwork and the skill with which the glaze is applied that provoke admiration. The face

is always composed in the same way: the lower lip of the mouth is drawn like a ‘cup’, whereas the upper lip consists of two small inverted arcs placed on an arc of a circle; the nose is always drawn in a straight line and rounded off at the end, with the side of the nose indicated by a curl shape. The eyes are shown with large pupils and the eyebrows are not joined; the ear is always depicted in the same way. The hair is not drawn in fine strokes but forms a mass of curls painted in a saturated black. The deeply coloured glazes are applied with perfect mastery, leaving few bubbles and no sign of any colour-run”.1 Reference: 1. Istanbul, Isfahan, Delhi: 3 Capitals of Islamic Art, Masterpieces from the Louvre Collection, 2008, p. 248, cat. no. 119. The tile Makariou describes is on long term loan to the Louvre from the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, inv. no.

AD 15120.

17 HORSE WITH A CEREMONIAL NECK PLUME Iran (Safavid), 17th century Height: 22.5 cm Width: 22.3 cm

A charming tile in the cuerda seca technique depicting the head and bust of a white horse in profile, entering the scene from the right and moving towards the left against a rich cobalt blue ground. The horse has a wispy mane, a large eye drawn with arched brow and glistening pupil, open wide and alert for the hunt, ears pricked up in anticipation of having to break into a gallop for the chase, dark flaring nostrils and an open mouth revealing a protuberant tongue. These elements combine to present to us a living breathing beast, snorting from the exertions of the chase.

The horse is adorned with a green ceremonial plume held by a cusped yellow clasp hanging from a turquoise collar. The bridle is indicated by a yellow noseband and white cheekpiece, and taut black reins encircle the plume, suggesting the guiding hand of a rider whom we cannot see. The lower half of the white horse is painted a plum colour.

Laterally bi-coloured horses are often seen in Persian and Indian miniatures; the painted colours indicate that these are splendid horses from royal stables.

The rich caparisons of the horse suggest that it is part of a princely hunting expedition. To the left corner of the tile is a slate coloured quiver full of arrows and the green elbow of a hunter taking aim. The rock and shrub landscape traversed by the hunting party is indicated by the spray of polychrome leaves rising from a black and white rock formation to the bottom of the picture and the chinoiserie cloud bands to the upper left corner, which may also be read as mounds of lichen or moss such as those found on mountain slopes.

A related tile with a similarly bold design of a horse and plume was formerly in the Hagop Kevorkian Collection, New York. This also shows a white horse with a ceremonial plume entering from the right. The Kevorkian horse is not accompanied by a quiver full of arrows or the elbow of a hunter but it is even more richly caparisoned, the bridle festooned with rich ornaments, the browband, headstall and noseband all in piquant turquoise, connected by an ochre brown cheekpiece decorated with turquoise and yellow beads. The horse is fitted with a saddle and saddle-cloth fit for a prince, leaving no doubt that like our tile

the Kevorkian tile was from a panel depicting a princely hunting scene.

What the prince might have looked like can be seen in a tile in the British Museum, London, where the prince wears a Safavid turban and a tunic fastened with floral buttons like the bridle fittings of the Kevorkian horse. His quiver is turquoise and outlined with a trim of ochre. As he draws the string of his bow, his elbow projects in the manner of the elbow in the present horse tile. Thus the British Museum tile may have also come from a large hunting panel; or alternatively, he may be an archer from a battle-scene, though this is less likely as princely pleasure pursuits were by far the preferred subject of these elegant tiles over the strife of war when used to decorate royal residences and garden pavilions. The British Museum tile is published in Venetia Porter, Islamic Tiles, 1995, pp. 78-79, no, 73. According to Porter, the tile came from a panel of picture tiles probably from a palace, and she notes how the archer’s pose and costume are comparable to contemporary Persian miniatures.

Provenance: Spink and Son, London The Diana Newman Collection, London Published and Exhibited: The Many Faces of Spink, November 1997, cat. no. 9.

18 CUSPED C ARTOUCHE AND AR ABESQUES Iran (Safavid), 17th century Height: 23.1 cm Width: 24.2 cm

A tile in the cuerda seca technique with a bold design of a large cusped cartouche containing an arabesque of split-leaf palmettes on scrolling vines ornamented with flower-heads and delicate buds. The cusped cartouche has a crisp yellow outline, beautifully drawn with projecting

flanges, trefoils and elegant internal cut-outs, resembling cartouche decorations on Safavid arms and armour and metalwork forms. The swirling white arabesques are outlined against the piquant apple green ground by the dark manganese brown of the cuerda seca technique.

The centres of the split-leaf palmettes are defined and filled with sharp manganese brown leaf shapes into which white buds sprouting from the vines protrude.

Surrounding the cartouche are floral sprays filling the tile to all sides, having yellow stalks, green leaves and white and black petals. The stylised flowers are highlighted by the rich and vibrant mottled cobalt blue ground.

19 A R A B E S Q U E S A N D C LO U D B A N D S Iran (Safavid), 17th century Height: 21.4 cm Width: 21.5 cm

A tile in the cuerda seca technique with a design of scrolling floral arabesques, saz leaves and cloud bands in white, black, blue, turquoise and yellow against an unusual bicoloured ground of apple green to the left and cobalt blue to the right.

A bold, sharply curved arabesque in white with a split-leaf palmette to the top and small tightly scrolled flower buds below divides the two sections of the design.

To the top right corner of the tile against the cobalt blue ground is a stylised composite flower with cusped white and black petals, the outlines of which resemble luxuriant pomegranates. Superimposed on this flower is a six-petalled flower with yellow roundels to each petal and a cusped turquoise centre.

Scrolling down from this flower is a gently curving vine from which sprout a cluster of bi-coloured leaves in black

and white with a turquoise flower in their midst. Scrolling on a sinuous curve towards the centre of the tile before re-curving towards the lower right corner is a chinoiserie cloud band in yellow, with a small white cloud band dancing in attendance to the centre.

To the lower left corner against the green ground is another cloud band in yellow from which scrolls a vine that divides into two, with a short sprig curving down and terminating in a black serrated saz leaf. A longer spray curves up across the tile, penetrating the bold arabesque that divides the design, curving up across the blue ground towards the top centre where it terminates in a white serrated saz leaf decorated with two turquoise dots. From behind the saz leaf emerges a flower with a turquoise centre and white petals decorated with black dots. Another black serrated saz leaf with a white dot in reserve can be seen to the left edge of the tile on the green ground.

Scrolling across both the blue and green grounds like a swag to the top of the tile and connecting the flower in the upper right corner with the upper left corner of the tile is a gently curving vine with splayed leaves.

Scattered single buds and leaves further ornament the rich surface of the design.

20 S H A H I S M A’ I L H U N T I N G Iran (Qajar), circa 1880 Height: 44.5 cm Width: 44.5 cm

A stone-paste tile with moulded decoration, underglaze-painted in shades of cobalt blue, olive green, turquoise, pink, gold, black and white under a thick gleaming transparent glaze.

The main field, contained within a quatrefoil cartouche on a cobalt blue ground, depicts a condensed captured moment of Qajar noblemen on horseback engaged in hunting pursuits. Six gentlemen, each riding a magnificent white stallion, are portrayed in the middle of the action.

To the top left, a man holds his pink tunic closed with one hand as he raises his sword with the other, ready to swing at an unknown target.

His white face shows an impassive expression as he gazes forwards.

The largest horseback rider, one of a group of three to the right side of the field, wears an unbuttoned pink tunic with floral rosette patterns and sits on a shawl decorated with boteh designs. He wears a turquoise hat, the vibrant colour having bled onto his white face, a common issue with copper oxide once fired. He sports a large moustache, his eyes focused on the prize before him. In his right hand he holds a bow whilst his left arm is bent double, having just released an arrow that has found its target in the side of an olive coloured deer, complete with small antlers and a panicked expression.

This was the pen name of the Safavid ruler Shah Isma’il I, the founder of the Safavid dynasty, who ruled from 1501 to 1524. The largest of the six noblemen depicted on this tile, clothed in a pink tunic is therefore probably Shah Isma’il, flanked to either side by slightly smaller figures on horseback: one who seems to be observing the spectacle stony-faced rather than taking part, and the other who looks somewhat mournful in his vibrant turquoise coat.

Shah Isma’il has stuck his spear into the rump of an olive coloured Asian lion, who has turned to face his tormentor, mouth open and teeth bared.

To the left of the cartouche a gentleman in a turquoise tunic on horseback holds a falcon in his right hand. He faces inwards surveying the scene before him. The falcon, a status symbol denoting the nobility of its owner was used for hunting small game such as rabbits. Below him, a horse and rider are in hot pursuit accompanied by a spotted hunting dog. The hunter wears an olive tunic and sports a turquoise hat. He holds a sword menacingly in his left hand, and is captured mid-swing, just as the sword is about to make contact with a large black boar, frightened and

Above him floats a small cusped white cartouche containing the Persian inscription: “Shah Isma’il Khata’i”

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running for its life below, seemingly chased by one of the other hunters towards him. Decorating the cobalt blue ground to the top of the main field are white scrolling bands, and further down are floating stylised floral sprays.

The thick gold cartouche border is edged in white with further white roundels punctuating the ground.

Split-leaf arabesques decorate the border and collect en masse to each corner, highlighted by the vibrant turquoise ground surrounding the cartouche. The tile is framed to each edge by a continuous gold border of meandering vines and tendrils.

Acknowledgement: We would like to thank Will Kwiatkowski for his kind reading of the text within the cartouche.

21 T U L I P S A N D CO M P O S I T E F LOW E R S Iran (Qajar), circa 1880 Height: 34.5 cm Width: 31 cm

A moulded and underglaze-painted tile in colours of cobalt blue, yellow, pink, turquoise and manganese against a while ground and with a stylised design of carnations,

rosettes, pomegranates and tulips all competing for our attention under a thick and unctuous glaze.

The moulded body of the tile, indicative of the Qajar period of ceramics, depicts various floral sprays all jostling for space. A central multi-coloured tulip emerges from the bottom of the tile, framed by serrated leaves to either side.

Further stylised composite flowers fill the ground, their cobalt stems bending and criss-crossing over the white slip, all with smaller serrated leaves. The design mimics the style of sixteenth century ceramics from Turkey, combining their stylised and composite sprays but utilising a wider palette which includes yellow and pink as well as the turquoise and cobalt blues seen in Iznik pottery.

22 FIVE GRAZING CAMELS Iran (Qajar, Tehran), circa 1880 Height: 25 cm Width: 26 cm

A stone-paste tile with moulded decoration, finely underglaze-painted in black, grey, brown, aubergine, turquoise and crisp white against a cobalt blue ground under a gleaming transparent glaze. The delightful and unusual design depicts a herd of five seated camels resting in a desert oasis, the landscape dotted with flowering shrubs on rocky outcrops, below distant mountains with buildings clinging to the steep slopes and cliffs.

The camels seem pleased to have arrived at this pleasant and charming spot, glad for the opportunity to rest after their long travels across the sandy dunes, which are happily nowhere to be seen. There is plentiful vegetation to feast on; clearly there must be water nearby as indicated by the abundance of verdant growth and the shiny liquid glaze covering the animals, like water spilt on a floor, all suggesting a coating of moisture from the laden atmosphere, as opposed to the arid conditions of the desert. By all accounts the scene is paradisiacal and hints of a smile on one or two of the camels, especially the sweet smile of that on the upper left, break through the habitual

grumpy, snorting and chewing profile that camels haughtily present to the world.

The camels are brought to life by the skill of the tile-maker in both moulding the undulating surfaces which capture the contours, physiognomy and musculature of the animals, as well as the finely painted fur in variegated shades and textures, from smooth felt-like body fur to long bristly and straggly hairs on their humps and bellies. The long eyelashes that camels use to flick sand from their eyes, the thick-lipped snouts, and the nostrils capable of closing completely in a sandstorm are also beautifully delineated. The bad-tempered beast at the centre of the composition exhibits some sharp teeth, reminding us that camels can eat any type of tough desert plant, even cacti. Most of all, it is the accurate depiction of the camels’ feet that tells us the tile-maker has

observed camels closely, and is familiar with the fact that unlike horses, camels do not have hooves.

The foot of a camel consists of a leathery pad with two toes at the front. The pad means that the gait of the camel is silent, and its wide area prevents the camel from sinking into the sand. The camel also has pads of thick leathery skin on its joints enabling it to kneel in the hot sand.

The most prominent adaptation to surviving life in the desert is of course the hump which stores fat that can be metabolised when food and water are in short supply. The single hump seen here tells us that these are dromedary camels, also known as the Arabian camel, found in North Africa and the Middle East. The Bactrian camel, which lives in Central Asia, has two humps.

This extraordinary tile may be compared to six square Qajar tiles in the Musée du Louvre in Paris which illustrate the work of the Iranian born scholar Abu Yahya Zakariya’ ibn Muhammad al-Qazwini (12031283) entitled Aja’ib al-makhluqat wa-ghara’ib al-mawjudat or “Marvels of Things Created and Miraculous Aspects of Things Existing”. This thirteenth century Arabic text was very popular and remains the most celebrated cosmographic work of the Islamic world. The text is preserved in many copies, often illustrated, and translated into Persian and Turkish.

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Al-Qazwini was a Persian physician, astronomer, geographer, legal expert, judge and proto-science fiction writer, who after extensive travels though Mesopotamia and Syria, settled in Baghdad, where he entered the circle of the Governor of Baghdad, Ata-Malik Juwayni, to whom the Aja’ib al-makhluqat was dedicated.1 Al-Qazwini was also well-known for his geographical dictionary, Athar al-bilad wa-akhbar al-‘ibad (Monument of Places and History of God’s Bondsmen), and his C

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Arabic science fiction fable, Awaj bin Anfaq, about a man who travelled to earth from a distant planet.2 The fantastic images on our tile and on the six closely related tiles at the Louvre are drawn from Al-Qazwini’s fertile imagination and inventive descriptions of the marvellous and the miraculous. The Louvre tiles were exhibited and published in Marthe Bernus Taylor and Cécile Jail (eds.), L’étrange et le Merveilleux en terres d’Islam, 2001, pp. 46-47, cat. no. 28. One of the Louvre tiles (MAO 1193) has a design with a dog, hedgehog, scorpion and tortoise. In our 2011 Simon Ray Indian & Islamic Works of Art catalogue, pp. 52-53, we published a tile with this design but even finer detailing, with a heightened colour range.

As described by Annabelle Collinet in the Louvre exhibition catalogue, the six Louvre tiles depict animals and monstrous creatures including a pack of baboons with prominent red buttocks (MAO 1195); a pair of confronted rabbits flanking a tortoise with slithering snakes above (MAO 1196); a flock of birds including a pigeon and a pelican swallowing a fish (MAO 1191); she-devils or ogresses with women’s breasts and goats’ feet wearing short flared skirts (MAO 1194); and their equally fearsome husbands, three divs, dark, evil demons with tails, spotted skins, horns and moustaches, wearing short skirts and armed with clubs (MAO 1192).3 The depictions are full of wit and humour, and use multiple perspectives and viewpoints skilfully combined to animate the surface of the tiles. What is most compelling is that while many designs from this series are full of fantasy, the camels in the present tile are depicted with such zoomorphic accuracy.

similar to the six tiles at the Louvre were known, but in recent Simon Ray Indian and Islamic Works of Art catalogues we have illustrated newly discovered designs that add to the small number of existing tiles illustrating the Aja’ib al-makhluqat.

We first became aware of the camel design when a tile with camels appeared on the French auction market about a decade ago. Then Sophie Makariou kindly informed us of a donation to the Louvre of a tile depicting five camels at rest (MOA 2176), bringing the number of designs, to seven.4 An added point of great interest is a tile in a private London collection with a design of camels similar to the Louvre but with slight variant placements of the camels, their postures and their heads, demonstrating that each tile was individually crafted. Both the Louvre camels and the tile in the private London collection show camels with much whiter fur than our camels.

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that appeared in the city of Tehran in 1866.5 Following the first appearance of lithographic publications in Iran in 1843, the technique used for printing impressions of famous literary texts developed considerably. It became possible to print manuscripts without losing their images thanks to the lithographic process, which allowed the simultaneous reproduction of text and miniatures, thus preserving the page layout of illustrated manuscripts.6 The master tile-makers of this group must have had access to this lithographic edition, which provided the inspiration for tiles remarkably different from the courtly and historical narratives, hunts and equestrian scenes seen on most Qajar tiles from the second half of the nineteenth century.

Provenance: The Collection of W. Gordon Menzies, Seattle Gordon Menzies was the former manager of the Crane Gallery in Seattle and amassed an

In our 2018 Simon Ray Indian & Islamic Works of Art catalogue, we published in cat. no. 40 a tile from this series with strutting cockerels and a pecking chicken, and in cat. no. 41, a design with four ducks wading by a stream. As far as we can ascertain, the configurations of these two designs are unique, bringing the number of designs to nine. We know of another design which has come on the market depicting peacocks strutting though a garden, bringing the total of known designs to ten.

outstanding collection of ceramics over six decades.

References: 1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zakariya_ al-Qazwini 2. Ibid.

3. Annabelle Collinet in Marthe Bernus Taylor and Cécile Jail (eds.), L’étrange et le Merveilleux en terres d’Islam, 2001, pp. 46-47, cat. no. 28. The Louvre exhibition devotes a section to works of art and manuscripts relating to al-Qazwini and the literature of the marvellous. The tiles are also published in the literature listed below.

According to Collinet, the style of the figures on the tiles is very similar to the illustrations in a lithographic edition of the Aja’ib al-makhluqat C

4. Personal communication with Sophie Makariou.

5. Collinet, 2001, p. 46.

6. Ibid.

Literature: Sophie Makariou (ed.), Nouvelles acquisitions, Arts de l’Islam: 1988-2001, 2002, pp. 109-111, cat. no. 66.

Collinet observed at the time of writing that no other group of tiles

Le Petit Journal des grandes expositions, 23rd April to 23rd July 2001, no. 331.

23 C A M E L WA L L B R A C K E T India (Mughal), 17th century

This bracket would probably have been used as a turban hook, as can be seen in various Malwa paintings of the period. This small though useful object offers an insight into the practicalities of life in seventeenth century India, but at the same time functions as a charming piece of ornamental sculpture. The strength and simplicity of form have a striking modernity.

Height: 12.2 cm Width: 29.4 cm Depth: 1.5 cm

A tempered steel wall bracket with the finial in the form of a camel’s head. The camel’s head faces forward and tilts slightly up with a smooth neck, which curves down to form a sinuous U-shape and then up into the horizontal spike tapering to a sharp point which would have secured it to the wall. The ears are alert and stand proud from the head of the camel.

Wall brackets, hooks and other hanging pegs in decorative and stylised animal forms are still visual on site in some Rajput forts and palaces, for example the

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24 G A R D E N PAV I L I O N I N A L A N D S C A P E Syria (Damascus), late 16th/early 17th century Height: 100 cm Width: 96 cm

An underglaze-painted tile panel, composed of sixteen tiles in vibrant hues of cobalt blue, turquoise, aubergine, apple green and black against a crisp white ground, depicting a garden pavilion within a landscape.

The centrally placed pavilion is the natural focal point of this impressive panel. Visually it draws the viewer in, as if inviting us to climb the cobalt blue semi-circular steps and walk through the grand opening ourselves. In addition, its form is so rarely if ever seen in Damascus tile designs that we are intrigued, pondering whether the pavilion actually existed or if it was just a romanticised creation from the minds of the tile-makers themselves. The building has an asymmetrical design, with an external balustrade framing the central doorway, decorated with aubergine spandrels and a central crescent. Placed within the entrance is an aubergine and white painted fountain, which has been drawn in a semi-successful attempt at perspective, with the suggestion that we are looking down slightly from above.

The vibrant apple green walls of the building are painted with thick brushstrokes and split into three sections by the four blue columns supporting the roof above.

A grilled white window flanks the door to either side whilst above, further rectangular, round and arched openings are depicted, with either turquoise, white or cobalt centres.

The tops of the cobalt columns are decorated with aubergine trefoil cartouches just below where they taper under the roof. We have to imagine what the design of the pavilion roof would have been, as sadly this row of tiles from the original panel is now missing from the composition.

Surrounding the grand pavilion are stylised floral sprays on a crackled white ground. Twisting apple green vines emerge from a pair of large leafy ferns to the bottom of the panel, from which grow cusped cobalt blue rosettes flanked by curling leaves.

Further cusped split-leaf palmettes decorate the ground above the pavilion, whilst from the ferns below also emerge hyacinth and tulip sprays. The landscape scene is framed to all sides by a pattern of interlocking cobalt leaf motifs edged in white and contained within vibrant turquoise borders.

The subject matter presented here is unusual and suggests that it was possibly a unique commission for a wealthy client for their own private home. Whilst most tiles formed complex geometric and floral patterns in palaces and mosques, private individuals could also employ the artisan tile-makers to create panels with more personal designs. Stock tiles, although still a luxury, must have been much

less expensive than special commissions, and with repeating patterns were more flexible, so they often covered entire walls, rather than defined panels as seen here.1 The enhanced status of Damascus as the Ottoman provincial capital created this new industry for the decoration of mosques, tombs, palaces and private residences.

For a large tile panel with vases and floral sprays, see Rémi Labrusse, Purs Décors, 2007, p.148. For a Damascus panel featuring a landscape scene, see Arthur Millner, Damascus Tiles, 2016, p. 227, fig. 5.13. This panel is still in situ in Leighton House, Kensington, London W8. Frederic Leighton is known to have purchased many of his tiles and panels directly from owners of Damascus houses.

Lord Leighton mentions that impoverished inhabitants of Damascus would sell single tiles to travellers passing through, meaning that large panels such as ours got “hopelessly dispersed”.2 In 1884, the French traveller Louis Lortet wrote: “To this day similar, outstanding faience tiles are painted for the homes of the wealthy where they decorate the interior courtyards and selamliks (areas reserved for men).”3 Provenance: European Private Collection References: 1. Arthur Millner, Damascus Tiles, 2016, p. 172.

2. Ibid., p. 218.

3. Ibid., p. 165.

25 S P L I T- L E A F PA L M E T T E S A N D C O M P O S I T E S P R AY S Syria (Damascus), late 16th/early 17th century

A symmetrical polychrome underglaze-painted square tile panel, composed of four identical tiles in hues of cobalt blue, apple green and black against a crisp white ground and depicting an interlacing framework of composite floral sprays and split-leaf palmettes surrounding a central stylised rosette all under a thick glaze.

each with white and green cloudlike cartouches within. The tips of each palmette join together with one another to form a crossshaped cartouche within which the composite sprays and central rosette are contained. Further tendrils emerge from each palmette connecting the inner sprays, creating a cohesive symmetrical design.

To the edges of each tile are further cobalt tendrils and half composite sprays in apple green, which form full flowers when the tiles are placed together, completing the design and visually connecting each tile to the other.

The centre of each tile features a single stylised blue rosette with a white bud framed by a cusped apple green roundel and surrounded by cobalt trefoil petals. Flanking the rosette are four black composite lotus sprays, one to each side, the sprays containing a green crescent cartouche. Large cobalt split-leaf palmettes fill the remaining spaces,

Identical tiles can be seen in situ in the mausoleum of Mohi al-Din Arabi in Salhiyya, Damascus, and are briefly discussed in Arthur Millner, Damascus Tiles, 2015, p. 171. For an almost identical tile in a similar palette, see Arthur Millner, Damascus Tiles, 2015, p. 275, fig. 6.7 and also in situ at the Victoria and Albert Museum, accession nos. 660-1893 and 506 to B-1900.

Height: 40 cm Width: 40 cm

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26 V I N E S A N D F L O R A L S P R AY S Syria (Damascus), early 17th century

An underglaze-painted tile in vivid shades of cobalt blue, turquoise, black and sage green against a crisp white ground, with a design of stylised floral sprays and large vines beneath a thick, crackled transparent glaze.

painted in cobalt blue with white trefoil cartouches surrounding a central tulip spray within. Framing the composite flower to either side are thick curving vines painted in a vibrant turquoise hue and decorated with white spots. The vines are in two pairs, each pair fastened together by a cusped cobalt crown or “Italian clasp”. Singular serrated sage green leaves and stylised rosettes decorate the remaining crackled ground, emerging from differing points along the vine.

A large serrated composite floral spray dominates the ground,

Part of a much bigger panel, this tile would have been connected to further identical examples to create

Height: 27.2 cm Width: 26.5 cm

vertical waves of large vines and stylised floral sprays. These can be seen in situ in the prayer hall of the Darwishiyya Mosque in Damascus, published in Gérard Degeorge and Yves Porter, The Art of the Islamic Tile, 2001, p. 216. For similar examples see Arthur Millner, Damascus Tiles, 2015, p. 144, fig. 4.31, p. 265, fig. 6.51; in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, gallery 460; and the Victoria and Albert Museum, number 520F-1900.

In the sixteenth century, Damascus became an important Ottoman provincial capital giving rise to new building schemes faced with tile-work. The designs echo Iznik patterns of the same period but are more spontaneous and exuberant, using a slightly different palette, with more emphasis on turquoise and cobalt hues in combination with sage green and aubergine. The vine motif seen here was popular in pre-Islamic antiquity, appearing on Chinese blue and white porcelain for the Islamic market, though the design in Damascus ceramics seems to have come through Iznik imitations.1 The shiny, glassy glaze with a fine crackle seen on this tile is characteristic of Damascus wares.

Provenance: Mellors & Kirk, 8 June 2021, lot 897.

Acquired by Algernon or Herbert Turnor of Lincolnshire at the beginning of the 20th century and mounted in a George V silver table frame. The silver table frame was hallmarked London 1910 and it appeared in the same sale as lot 731.

Reference: 1. Arthur Millner, Damascus Tiles, 2015, p. 138.

27 S W I R L I N G F LOW E R - H E A D S Turkey (Iznik), 1560-1575 Height: 24.5 cm Width: 24.5 cm

A polychrome underglaze-painted tile in bright cobalt blue, sealing wax red or Armenian bole, and apple green on a crisp white ground, with an elegant design of swirling flower-heads on leafy sprigs that turn in a clockwise direction within a cusped red-bordered medallion.

The spandrels each contain a trefoil palmette flanked by an arabesque of composite flowers against a green ground.

This beautiful tile shows the Iznik potters at the peak of their technical skills, firing the finest tomatohued sealing wax red offset by a brilliant apple or emerald green.

These complementary colours are combined with the more traditional cobalt blue and fired to dazzling effect against a pure white ground.

A tile with an almost identical pattern is recorded in the Barlow Collection.

This is illustrated in Geza Fehérvári, Islamic Pottery: A Comprehensive Study based on the Barlow Collection, 1973, pp. 153-154, no. 205, pl. 90a. This tile has the same twelve-lobed medallion enclosing a central flower surrounded by six other flowers.

Surrounding the medallion are scrolls and palmettes on a green ground.

The colour palette does not include red and Fehérvári dates the tile to circa 1535-1555. The design of the Barlow tile may be seen as a prototype of the present tile, where a favourite pattern developed at an earlier date is revived but greatly enriched by the addition of a lustrous red.

A group of tiles with related red medallions enclosing kaleidoscopic split-leaf palmettes on a white ground can be seen in the Rüstem Pasha Mosque of 1561 in Istanbul.

These tiles are illustrated in Walter Denny, Iznik: The Artistry of Ottoman Ceramics, 2004, pp. 28-29.

The Rüstem Pasha Mosque, built by the celebrated architect Sinan for the immensely wealthy vizier of Sultan Suleyman the magnificent, is the first Ottoman building to utilise tiles in the newly developed polychrome technique, with the colour red finally reaching maturity.

The perfection of the polychrome palette on the present tile suggests a date of manufacture between 1560 and 1575.

Provenance: Oliver Hoare

28 C U S P E D C A R T O U C H E A N D F L O R A L S P R AY Turkey (Iznik), circa 1580 Height: 12.5 cm Width: 13 cm

A polychrome underglaze-painted tile fragment in shades of cobalt blue, sealing wax red and turquoise against a crisp white ground and depicting part of a stylised floral design.

to the centre appears from the flower, whilst below part of a further cobalt blue spray can be seen. Framing the flower to the right is part of a cusped cartouche, with a red border and vibrant turquoise ground. A group of cobalt serrated saz leaves can be seen emerging from the corner.

Provenance: Heinrich Jacoby (1889-1964), president of the Persische Teppich Aktien Gesellschaft (PETAG), thence by descent until purchased

A cobalt composite spray with a raised red and turquoise centre bends under its own weight, the delicate stem arcing to the left, a single leaf emerging from its base.

A serrated saz leaf with a splash of sealing wax red

by the current owner.

29 T U L I P A N D C A R N AT I O N C A R T O U C H E S Turkey (Iznik), circa 1580

and surrounded by three floating green leaves. Each flower is connected to one other below by a delicate white curving tendril with a single saz leaf. Below to the cobalt ground are small decorative emerald green trefoil cartouches. The cusped palmettes are framed in a white slip, and to the top, a thin red border can be seen where the angle of the fragment changes once again, suggesting another adaptation for architectural reasons.

Height: 15.5 cm Width: 16.4 cm

A polychrome underglaze-painted moulded tile fragment decorated in colours of cobalt blue, emerald green and sealing wax red against a white slip ground.

This architectural fragment would have originally formed part of an arch above a doorway or a decorative roundel. The unusual moulded section provides clues as to its position and is highlighted by thin cobalt lines which echo its shape.

Framing the moulded edge internally is a repeated pattern of cusped cobalt cartouches, one with a single white tulip with raised red detailing, a green calyx and leaf and the other with a single white spiky carnation with a central red bud

For a similar moulded and curved edge tile with blue cusped cartouches, see Hülya Bilgi, Dance of Fire: Iznik Tiles and Ceramics in the Sadberk Hanim Museum and Ömer M. Koç Collections, 2009, p. 184, no. 90.

Provenance: Heinrich Jacoby (1889-1964), president of the Persische Teppich Aktien Gesellschaft (PETAG), thence by descent until purchased by the current owner.

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30 T U L I P S A N D C A R N AT I O N S I N A VA S E Turkey (Iznik), 17th century Height: 24.8 cm Width: 24.8 cm

An underglaze-painted tile in shades of cobalt blue and turquoise against a bluish white ground with a symmetrical design of a vase with floral sprays, flanked to either side by a cypress tree. The design is painted with great spontaneity, freshness and movement.

The tile is vertically arranged and depicts a pair of tulips and seven carnations all growing from a central vase. The low globular vase is decorated with a pair of addorsed stylised tulip sprays. Framing the vase to either side is a group of small stylised flowers, which fill the ground. The tulips and

carnations all arc outwards and a single turquoise cusped lotus palmette can also been seen just above the vase nestling within the floral stems. To either side, the tile is framed by part of a large cypress tree painted in vibrant turquoise. This tile would have originally been part of a much larger continuous pattern.

Tiles of similar age and composition can be seen in the Topkapi Palace, decorating part of an exterior wall of the harem. As the Ottoman court began to withdraw its official patronage in the mid seventeenth century, potters turned elsewhere and sought new markets abroad.

Large quantities of tiles were exported to Egypt, and both the mosque of Ibrahim Agha in Cairo and the Coptic church of Deir Abu Seifein are decorated with similar blue and turquoise tiles.1 Reference: 1. John Carswell, Iznik Pottery, 1998, p. 107, pl. 85.

31 TWO MAIOLICA ALBARELLI JARS Northern Italy (Faenza) Turkish man albarello jar circa 1555

Height: 24.5 cm Diameter: 12.8 cm Bearded man albarello jar dated 1555 Height: 24.5 cm Diameter: 12.8 cm

ranking officials, who gazes over a manuscript he holds in his left hand.

It is suggested therefore that this is a man of learning; his serious and concentrated expression merely confirms this. He wears a plain but substantial robe over a yellow tunic below, his grey and manicured beard standing out against the yellow background of the cartouche. The pharmacy label below him reads: CONFETIO DE CINAM

Two underglaze-painted earthenware albarelli (apothecary) jars in shades of cobalt blue, yellow, green and ochre against a white ground and depicting portraits of bearded gentlemen in side profile, Latin labels and decorative fields of trophies, including musical instruments and manuscripts.

The jars, although not specifically a pair, share many common features; not only in size, shape and date but also colour and design. Each is decorated in two horizontal sections with scrollwork and trophies serving as the background for the portraits contained within green oak-leaf cartouches. The sections frame a centrally placed pharmacy label in cobalt blue on a white ground.

The jar with the Turkish figure depicts a bearded gentleman sporting an impressive white turban with ochre finial, usually worn by high-

This seems to be a slightly misspelled Latin phrase, translated as: “Container from China”, suggesting that this jar would have held medicinal contents of Chinese origin.

Below the label and against a dark cobalt ground are stylised images of musical instruments and manuscripts which float in an elaborate and overlapping composition around the lower body of the jar. Surrounding the gentleman above and against an ochre ground are further instruments as well as the head and shoulders of an impressive suit of armour. Borders of yellow and green oak leaves frame the central field above and below.

The second jar features a portrait of a bearded classical figure looking down and slightly to his right, as if he has been suddenly interrupted.

His finely painted grey hair and beard contrast with his tanned face

and the ochre and yellow robe he wears. Appearing from behind his left shoulder is a pale blue banner bearing the name HAIF (?) suggesting that he is a real figure rather than just a classical creation. Like the other albarello jar, the figure is framed by an oak-leafed cartouche and surrounded by instruments against an ochre ground. The label below in cobalt blue against a white ground reads:

Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans (21st February 1920 - 25th January 2012) was an American philanthropist, leader, activist, and patron of the arts. She was the granddaughter of Benjamin N. Duke, great niece of James B. Duke and great granddaughter of Washington Duke, tobacco tycoons who built the American Tobacco Company. Her great uncle James was the key principal in the formation and early operations of what is now Duke Energy Corporation, the largest investorowned utility in the United States, and with

TRIFERA MAGNA

the urging and guidance of his brother Ben, founded Duke University in Durham,

This Latin term translates to “Big vase”, a mysterious and ambiguous phrase that perhaps suggests the contents could be non-specific or based upon quantity rather than type. Below the label, a further group of trophies including spheres and manuscripts float against the cobalt ground.

Interestingly, the sphere to the front contains the date “1555”, which we assume is accurate for dating the jar. Borders of yellow and green oak leaves frame the central field above and below.

North Carolina, and established The Duke Endowment, now one of the largest charitable organisations in the United States.

These maiolica albarelli were obtained during Mrs Semans’ first marriage. Her husband’s fascination with medical objects and memorabilia came naturally, but it was during their time in Italy that he found inspiration in the many beautiful pharmacy jars they observed. The exact dates of acquisition of these jars are uncertain, but from all accounts from Mary’s family, the collection was started soon after their return from Europe in the summer of 1938 and

A similar albarello jar, also dated 1555 and with a portrait of a man in Turkish costume within the same cartouche is in the Musée de la Renaissance in Ecouen.

concluded at some time before Josiah’s

Provenance:

We would like to thank Signora Maria

The Mary Duke Biddle Trent Semans

Schiavone for the Latin translations on

Foundation

these objects.

tragic death in 1948. In 1956, Mary donated these jars to Duke University on longterm loan, where they were prominently displayed until just recently.

32 ANIMALS IN A LANDSCAPE France, circa 1880

By Edmé Samson Diameter: 31.5 cm

A polychrome underglaze-painted dish on a short foot and with a sloping rim, in colours of turquoise, cobalt blue and sealing wax red against a white ground, featuring a composition of various animals within borders of cusped lappet cartouches and stylised floral sprays.

The central turquoise roundel contains a rhythmically painted group of animals, caught in various poses.

To the top, a pair of seated and confronted white lions fills the ground. Below, a leopard with markings on its back seems to have just spotted a pair of birds, his head turned in surprise. Scrolling tendrils and stylised tufts of grass fill the remaining ground, though according to John Carswell, these subsidiary designs were in fact stylised oak

leaves.1 The white animals contrast with the vibrant turquoise ground, and splashes of sealing wax red further heighten the scene. A band of cusped lappet cartouches in raised sealing wax red painted on the deep cavetto contain stylised floral sprays and are surrounded by alternating trefoil leaves and single spots in cobalt blue. A double black-lined border surrounds the main field and to the rim is a repeated pattern of floral sprays and small cusped cartouches against a turquoise ground. To the reverse of the dish are alternating designs of turquoise scrolls and floral sprays to the underside of the cavetto surrounding a small cobalt floral motif of the Samson factory to the centre. For a similar Iznik dish with animal designs, see the Victoria and Albert Museum, accession number 343-1897; a further example published in Keld von Folsach, Art from the World of Islam in

The David Collection, 2001, p. 192, no.

277; and examples in Frédéric Hitzel and Mireille Jacotin, Iznik: L’aventure d’une collection, 2005, pp. 277-283.

European ceramic factories such as Samson, Cantagalli, Minton, Lachenal and Theodore Deck produced pottery in the second half of the nineteenth century, which closely mimicked both the design as well as colour of sixteenth century Turkish Iznik ceramics. There are three Iznik dishes attributed to the late sixteenth century in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, the David Collection, Copenhagen, and the Calouste Gulbenkian Collection, Lisbon which are all examples of this animal design which has been copied by Samson here. According to John Carswell, it is possible that these images of playful animals were inspired by pieces of Balkan silver, which was popular in sixteenth century Turkey.2 References: 1. John Carswell, Iznik Pottery, 1998, p. 85.

2. Ibid., p. 84.

33 T I G E R S T R I P E S A N D C I N TA M A N I France, circa 1880

candlestick is a stylised ‘S’ motif, the mark of the Samson factory.

By Edmé Samson European ceramic factories such as Samson, Cantagalli, Minton, Lachenal and Theodore Deck produced pottery in the second half of the nineteenth century which closely mimicked both the design as well as colour of sixteenth century Turkish Iznik ceramics. Iznik pottery itself took inspiration in part from Balkan metalwork, including possibly the mallet-shaped candlestick. The original Iznik piece which Samson has copied here is published in the exhibition catalogue Exposition d’Art Musulman, Les Amis de L’Art, Alexandrie, Paris, 1925, pl. 34. Further examples of the tiger stripes (or Buddha lips) design can be seen on a jug in the David Collection, Copenhagen, no. 1/1962, as well as published in Hülya Bilgi, Dance of Fire: Iznik Tiles and Ceramics in the Sadberk Hanim Museum and Ömer M. Koç Collections, 2009, pp. 156-161 when accompanied by cintamani balls. This collection also features an Iznik bowl with an almost identical pattern and hue as our candlestick, no. 34, pp. 102-103. For similar shaped Iznik period candlesticks, see a pair in the British Museum, no. 1878,1230.521. Interestingly, according to their curator, the shape is “after a Venetian bronze prototype”.

Height: 18.8 cm Diameter: 15.6 cm

An underglaze-painted malletshaped candlestick in shades of green and black against a white ground, formed with a pinched cylindrical body, flat shoulder, short tapering neck and flared mouth.

The unusual design to the main body consists of repeated stylised “tiger stripes” with dark green-grey edges containing lighter emerald green centres which fill the ground in angled columns. The field is framed above and below by borders of repeating black “ammonite scrolls” painted against a vibrant emerald green ground. The flat shoulder which acts as a drip tray for the molten wax is decorated with further larger tiger stripes in chevroned patterns, interspersed with cintamani spots. The short and slightly tapered neck features another pattern of small, repeated tiger stripes within scrolling borders and to the top a trumpet mouth has chevroned stripes echoing the drip tray pattern below. Inside the base of the

74

34 G E M - S E T R O C K C R Y S TA L CUP AND COVER Northern India, early 19th century Height: 12 cm Diameter: 7.2 cm

A carved, polished and gem-set rock crystal cup and cover, the cup of tall, elegant tumbler form with a circumference that widens gradually from the foot to the rim, the cover of gentle dome-shape surmounted by a bud-shaped knop finial. The cup and cover are inlaid with gold scrolling tendrils in the kundan technique and set with diamonds, rubies and emeralds within chased gold collets to form flowers, leaves and buds on arabesque vines of gold. The gold has worn on some of the flowers and vines to reveal the underlying silver.

The technique used is thus shown to be silver-gilt, where the floral patterns applied in silver are gilded by embellishments of gold.

The body of the cup is decorated with a frieze of tall vertical floral sprays that fit the gradually widening shape of the rock crystal surface.

At the base of each floral spray is a tiny wine cup set with a cabochon

ruby from which the plant rises, thrusting upward and sprouting bifurcating branches that bear an ever greater abundance of leaves and flowers with increasing numbers of petals. A flower with a diamond centre set in an engraved collet that forms its simple ruffled petals, like a sunflower, is surmounted by a quatrefoil flower-head with a ruby centre and alternating diamond and emerald petals. Crowning the design is the largest and most elaborate flower with a ruby calyx, eight multicoloured gem-set petals, a central diamond set in an engraved and chased collet, and a nodding finial of a single petal worn like a sarpech. The frieze of tall floral sprays is framed to the top at the rim and the bottom at the foot of the cup by a band of scrolling vines bearing quatrefoil flower-heads with circular petals set with rubies. The ruby flowers alternate with single emerald green leaves set on a diagonal to impart an anti-clockwise flow to the pattern.

The base of the cup is carved in the form of a stylised flower with a hatched centre and overlapping

78

petals. The Ford inventory no. 1-12 is painted on the base in black.

The cover or lid of the cup is decorated with closely related gem-set floral arabesques arranged in quadripartite formation. Four floral sprays, each rising from a tiny mound and widening to occupy a quarter of the surface of the cover, flank the central knop finial. As the flowers seem to open and blossom in ever increasing profusion, spiky unadorned gold tendrils give way to single buds and leaves, that yield in turn to trefoil then quatrefoil flowers to impart a luxuriant effect of dense growth. The finial is ornamented with a six-petalled flower-head, each gem-set petal floating detached from the central circular gold collet where gadrooning frames the diamond.

A gem-set rock crystal covered cup with similar decoration and carved with lobes is in the collection of the Asian Civilisations Museum, Singapore.

A gem-set rock crystal covered cup of closely related decoration

to the Singapore covered cup and the present cup, is in the David Collection, Copenhagen. This is illustrated in Kjeld von Folsach, Art from the World of Islam in The David Collection, 2001, p. 238, no. 360. This is dated to the eighteenth century.

Rock crystal is a colourless and transparent form of quartz. It is very much harder and clearer than glass, making it a popular medium for the carving of luxury objects, boxes, vessels and jewellery. Amongst the most celebrated rock crystal objects from the Islamic medieval courts are the exquisite products of the Fatimid workshops. These have survived in relatively large numbers, mainly in European church treasuries.

While rock crystal objects continued to be produced after the fall of the Fatimids in 1171, these works of art from other periods and regions have not generated the same level of interest amongst scholars and collectors.1 In Mughal India there was a great revival in the art of rock crystal carving. According to Pedro Moura Carvalho, Mughal interest in rock crystal is evident not only from the

Kathleen DuRoss Ford (1940-2020), an accomplished photographer and former model, was married to Henry Ford II (19171987), the automotive tycoon and eldest grandson of Henry Ford I, from 1980 to 1987 when he passed away. Henry Ford II was

number of surviving pieces but also in the numerous references to the hardstone in contemporary sources such as Abu’l Fazl.2 Jahangir owned an unusual collection of rock crystal objects from different origins including Europe, where during the late Renaissance hardstone carving reached new heights.3 His treasures included boxes from Europe, a crystal cup supposedly from Iraq which he gave to Shah Abbas I, and a crystal figure, possibly Chinese, that he received from the king of Bijapur.4 These varied objects stimulated the Mughal craftsmen to new heights of technical virtuosity during the reign of Shah Jahan. The kundan technique for the inlay of gold and gemstones ensured that the applied decoration of objects achieved a similarly high level of craftsmanship and design to match the superb quality of the carving.

C

the President of the Ford Motor Company from 1945-1960, CEO from 1945-1979, and Chairman of the Board Directors from 1960 to 1980. He is credited with reviving the fortunes of the company through innovation and an aggressive management style that yielded dividends. The iconic 1949 Ford was designed by his team called the “whizz kids”; 1,118,740 cars of this very successful model were sold.

Mrs Ford had homes in Palm Beach, Eaton Square in London, and Turville Grange in Oxfordshire. She was a generous host to a large group of international friends including Lily Tomlin and Margaret Thatcher, to whom she lent her Eaton Square house when Thatcher left Downing Street for the last time on 28th November 1990.

References: 1. Pedro Moura Carvalho, Gems and Jewels of Mughal India: Jewelled and Enamelled objects from the 16th to 20th centuries, 2010, pp. 54-56.

2. Ibid.

Provenance:

3. Ibid.

Mr and Mrs Henry Ford II, acquired 1960

4. Ibid.

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35 T O Y S O L D I E R O F A C AVA L I E R W I T H A S W O R D South-Eastern India (Vizagapatam), circa 1795 Height: 10.5 cm Width: 6.7 cm Depth: 3.4 cm

This cast brass toy soldier depicts a moustachioed cavalryman brandishing a large sword and wearing a wide-brimmed hat, seated on a horse standing on a rectangular platform. He wears a pleated skirt under a military frock coat with two rows of buttons fastened with toggles, while the horse has a knotted mane and a pair of large beaded straps holding the saddlecloth in place at its rear.

Details are delicately cast such as the very fine strands of hair on the mane of the horse swept to one side, through which pass the reins held by the cavalier, disappearing then appearing again. The cavalier’s riding boots, tucked into stirrups,

have a long, pointed and greatly exaggerated curve. A most charming detail is the strap for his hat, which instead of going under the chin seems to be tied to his hair at the back, attached by a rope to perhaps his ponytail.

In comparison with the cantering horses often seen in this group of toy soldiers, the horse here stands upright as if in formation at the beginning or end of a parade. The cavalryman also sits upright staring ahead with both pride and pleasure registering on his smiling face, his chest puffed out and his back arched slightly to enhance his military bearing. His straight sword, held with his elbow pointing back and his sleeve creased into precise multiple folds, enhances the deliberately rigid stance. The horse however turns its head to its right to animate the group posture, while its hind feet seem ready to break into a trot as soon as it can do so.

82

Examples from this delightful group of toy soldiers can be seen in the collections of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford; the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; the National Army Museum, London; the Madras Museum; the Madras School of Art; and the Royal Collection at Sandringham House. The seven mounted figures in the Ashmolean result from the gifts of two private donors, A. J. Prior and the eminent scholar Simon Digby, who pioneered research into this group. The attribution to Vizagapatam is based on inscriptions on the elephant at the Ashmolean, which has the date of 1795 on its forehead and the name VIZAGAPATAM in Roman capitals on the saddlecloth covering its rump.1 In describing the Ashmolean group, J. C. Harle and Andrew Topsfield observe that unlike Western examples, the toy soldiers are not manufactured uniformly by piecemoulding, but are individually cast

by the cire perdue (lost wax) process, thus having a greater variety of detail and expression.2 Even toy soldiers of related design, like similar cavaliers and lancers, differ in many subtle details. With their large hands, squat bodies, enormous weapons and upright bearing, they “graphically illustrate” what Sir George Birdwood terms “the whole gamut of military swagger in man and beast”.3 The history attached to the toy soldiers in the Madras Museum, recorded by the supervisor Edgar Thurston, suggests that they were commissioned by Raja Timma Jagapati IV (died 1797) of Peddapuram, 80 miles south of Vizagapatam, on the advice of his astrologers for presentation to Brahmins in order to avert his death. Another version of the story relates that the astrologer advised the Raja to review his toy army each day without bloodshed in order to escape his demise. They were

supposedly designed by a mysterious artist named Arditi and cast by two brothers, Virachandracharlu and Viracharlu.4 For Digby and Harle, this Victorian history of the toy soldiers’ origins is unconvincing as they are not Indian in style; they argue instead that the toy soldiers were conceived by a talented though not professional modeller, an English or French officer in Vizagapatam, which had an English factory (trading post) since 1682 and was briefly captured by the French in 1758. The toy soldiers are very skilful caricatures and caricature is not part of the Indian tradition.5 An Indian bronze or brass would have been modelled by the caster and not by a separate designer. The un-Indian rectilinear bases also come from a European tradition. Digby and Harle observe that “the satire is directed at the pretentions of certain military types, their swagger. This is achieved by the posture of the figures and by

83

exaggerating the size of their weapons and certain articles of clothing; this in turn, makes the figures look smaller and their pompousness more ridiculous”.6 References: 1. Simon Digby and J. C. Harle, Toy Soldiers and Ceremonial in Post-Mughal India, 1982, pp. 5-6.

2. James C. Harle and Andrew Topsfield, Indian Art in the Ashmolean Museum, 1986, p. 67.

3. Ibid., p. 66. The toy soldiers were first described in George Birdwood, The Industrial Arts of India, 1880, p. 162, pls. 20-26.

4. J. C. Harle, “Toy Soldiers” in The Oxford Magazine, 6th February 1970, pp. 136-139, quoting Edgar Thurston, “Brass Manufactures in the Madras Museum”, in the Journal of Indian Art and Industry, 1892, and an unissued publication by Thurston. Evidence that model armies were popular with minor nobility is provided by a miniature in Mark Zebrowski, Deccani Painting, 1983, p. 277, fig. 258, depicting a procession of toy soldiers on the raja’s terrace.

5. Harle, 1970, pp. 138-139; Digby and Harle, 1982, pp. 6-7.

6. Ibid.

the absolute mastery of the bronze caster. The sculpture skilfully balances the teetering weight of the elements and the postures of the horse and lancer so that the dignity of parade the lancer so wants to achieve is undercut by the slightly precarious balance of the horse. The whole edifice greatly impresses but might just come crumbling down at any moment. The fact that we are ignored by the lancer while the horse looks to the viewer for sympathy mixed with some of the pride of the rider, demonstrates the psychological acuity of the master bronze caster.

36 TOY S O L D I E R W I T H K N E E L I N G H O R S E A N D L A N C E South-Eastern India (Vizagapatam), circa 1795 Height: 12.8 cm Width: 7.6 cm Depth: 3.7 cm

This cast brass toy soldier is a moustachioed lancer sitting astride a horse kneeling on its front legs on a rectangular platform. He wears a huge hat with a wide brim resembling a sombrero at a jaunty angle and brandishes a long spear of exaggerated length. His riding boots are also exaggerated in length and curve dramatically through the stirrups to a point. An immensely thick chunky scarf is looped to swaggering effect around his shoulder and waist, from which a

huge sword in a scabbard dangles.

All these elements dwarf the horse which nevertheless puts on an impressive display.

The horse has been trained to kneel on its front legs and here the performance is made more challenging by the fact that it must bear the rider’s weight as well as that of his large and heavy accoutrements.

The rider stares haughtily ahead with great pride at his horse and his own splendid ensemble, while the horse turns its head to look at the viewer as if to say that it has performed this feat to order, but it has been no easy task. Indeed, an element of struggle in the posture reveals the complexity of the pose for the animal to which the rider is oblivious and at the same time demonstrates

84

Examples from this delightful group of toy soldiers can be seen in the collections of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford; the Victoria and Albert Museum, London; the National Army Museum, London; the Madras Museum; the Madras School of Art; and the Royal Collection at Sandringham House. The seven mounted figures in the Ashmolean result from the gifts of two private donors, A. J. Prior and the eminent scholar Simon Digby, who pioneered research into this group. The attribution to Vizagapatam is based on inscriptions on the elephant at the Ashmolean, which has the date of 1795 on its forehead and the name VIZAGAPATAM in Roman capitals on the saddlecloth covering its rump.1 In describing the Ashmolean group, J. C. Harle and Andrew Topsfield observe that unlike Western examples, the toy soldiers are not manufactured uniformly by piece-

moulding, but are individually cast by the cire perdue (lost wax) process, thus having a greater variety of detail and expression.2 Even toy soldiers of related design, like similar cavaliers and lancers, differ in many subtle details. With their large hands, squat bodies, enormous weapons and upright bearing, they “graphically illustrate” what Sir George Birdwood terms “the whole gamut of military swagger in man and beast”.3 The history attached to the toy soldiers in the Madras Museum, recorded by the supervisor Edgar Thurston, suggests that they were commissioned by Raja Timma Jagapati IV (died 1797) of Peddapuram, 80 miles south of Vizagapatam, on the advice of his astrologers for presentation to Brahmins in order to avert his death. Another version of the story relates that the astrologer advised the Raja to review his toy army each day without bloodshed in order to escape his demise. They were supposedly designed by a mysterious artist named Arditi and cast by two brothers, Virachandracharlu and Viracharlu.4 For Digby and Harle, this Victorian history of the toy soldiers’ origins is unconvincing as they are not Indian in style; they argue instead that the toy soldiers were conceived by a talented though not professional modeller, an English or French officer in Vizagapatam, which had an English factory (trading post) since 1682 and was briefly captured by the French

in 1758. The toy soldiers are very skilful caricatures and caricature is not part of the Indian tradition.5 An Indian bronze or brass would have been modelled by the caster and not by a separate designer. The un-Indian rectilinear bases also come from a European tradition. Digby and Harle observe that “the satire is directed at the pretentions of certain military types, their swagger. This is achieved by the posture of the figures and by exaggerating the size of their weapons and certain articles of clothing; this in turn, makes the figures look smaller and their pompousness more ridiculous”. 6

2. James C. Harle and Andrew Topsfield, Indian Art in the Ashmolean Museum, 1986, p. 67.

3. Ibid., p. 66. The toy soldiers were first described in George Birdwood, The Industrial Arts of India, 1880, p. 162, pls.

20-26.

4. J. C. Harle, “Toy Soldiers” in The Oxford Magazine, 6th February 1970, pp.

136-139, quoting Edgar Thurston, “Brass Manufactures in the Madras Museum” in the Journal of Indian Art and Industry, 1892, and an unissued publication by Thurston. Evidence that model armies were popular with minor nobility is provided by a miniature in Mark Zebrowski, Deccani Painting, 1983, p. 277, fig. 258, depicting a procession of toy soldiers on

References:

the raja’s terrace.

1. Simon Digby and J. C. Harle, Toy Soldiers

5. Harle, 1970, pp. 138-139; Digby and

and Ceremonial in Post-Mughal India, 1982,

Harle, 1982, pp. 6-7.

pp. 5-6.

6. Ibid.

85

37 JADE HORSE-HEAD KNIFE India (Mughal), circa 1650 Length of knife: 22.2 cm Length of hilt: 9 cm Width of hilt: 0.9 cm Depth of hilt: 3.9 cm Length of scabbard: 20.8 cm Length of knife in scabbard: 27.3 cm

A carved jade knife (kard) with a straight single-edged steel blade, the very pale green jade delicately carved in the form of a horse’s head, with flaring nostrils, blazing eyes set with rubies in the kundan technique within gold collets, slightly open mouth baring teeth and gently rounded cheeks.

Though the hilt is carved with great delicacy and is diminutive in scale as befits a small personal knife, the features of the horse are powerfully sculpted. The line of the jaw is strong, and the muscles of the face ripple under the taut skin of the horse’s head. The firm musculature of the jaw area is indicated by a refined combination of incised outlines and undulating surfaces that create volume as well as muscle tension under the skin, bringing the horse to vivid life.

The combed mane is finely incised for detail and swept as if by the wind to the horse’s right. The delicacy

of the knife is most evident from a direct view of the horse from the front, where the unusually narrow proportions and penetrating glaze of the red ruby eyes combine to create a sleek image of speed, precision, and haughty, aristocratic elegance. We have no doubt whatsoever that the horse is a lithe thoroughbred, ready to break into an effortless gallop at high speed.

The blade is inlaid in the koftgari technique with stylised floral sprays within cusped cartouches to either side. The proportions of blade and hilt are beautifully balanced to form a knife that affords pleasure to both the eye and the hand. Small knives such as this were hung from a patka (sash) as a princely symbol, or sometimes housed in the sheath of larger knives or weapons.

The scabbard is covered with red velvet and has a cusped locket and chape of chased gold set in the kundan technique with flowers and leaves of cabochon rubies, emeralds, and faceted diamonds. Gold cords are wound round the scabbard to provide further embellishment from which is suspended an elaborate articulated ornamental floral tassel of petals and buds wrapped in gold.

A green nephrite kard hilt carved in the similar form of a horse’s head

87

but slightly larger dimensions and rounded rather than flattened oval grip in the al-Sabah Collection, Dar al-Athar al-Islamiyyah, is illustrated in Salam Kaoukji, Precious Indian Weapons and Other Princely Accoutrements, 2017, p. 203, cat. no. 71. On pp. 204-205, Kaoukji illustrates a horse-head knife with a slightly curved blade decorated with gold koftgari work. Kaoukji dates both the hilt and the knife from the al-Sabah collection to the first half of the seventeenth century.

While describing a carved jade knife with a sheep’s head in the Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, Pedro Moura Carvalho in Gems and Jewels of Mughal India: Jewelled and enamelled objects from the 16th to 20th centuries, 2010, pp. 88-89, observes that the emperor Jahangir is often portrayed wearing kards in paintings of his reign, demonstrating that the small knife was a weapon of which he was particularly fond. His successors seem to have preferred other arms, namely larger daggers (khanjars).

Carvalho draws our attention to two paintings of Jahangir from the Minto Album, “Prince Salim as a Young Man”, circa 1635, now in the Victoria and Albert Museum, in which the prince wears a kard carved with a human head for the pommel; and a painting of “Jahangir Holding the Orb”, circa 1635, now in the Chester Beatty

Library, Dublin, where Jahangir is seen with an animal-headed kard.1 The kard is also depicted in paintings of the Akbar period, suggesting that it is an early style and size of weapon for which Jahangir retained affection.

Two paintings from the Johnson Album in the British Library that date from the reign of Akbar show the courtiers Khvajagi Muhammad Husain, circa 1595, and Abd al-Rahim Khar, circa 1600, each carrying a kard suspended from the sash.2 C

Further pictorial evidence suggesting that kards were fashionable during the reigns of Akbar and Jahangir, is provided in a painting of circa 1630

by Govardhan from the Kevorkian Album now at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, depicting “Akbar with a Lion and a Calf”. In this painting, a sheep’s head kard is suspended from the emperor’s sash.3

German collection that has been given a date of circa 1640-1660.

Combining Carvalho’s dating of the Khalili kard and his pictorial analysis of knives in miniature paintings, with Kauokji’s dates of the first half of the seventeenth century that she assigns to the al-Sabah kards, we arrive at a mid-century date of circa 1650 for the present knife.

Provenance: Private European Collection

Despite this pictorial evidence, most surviving jade kards including the present knife seem to date from the mid to late seventeenth century.

Though Carvalho cites several early seventeenth century paintings as evidence of Jahangir’s fondness of the kard, he does not date the Khalili knife to the Jahangir period but gives a more general date of seventeenth century. Carvalho also mentions a knife with a jade hilt in a private

References: 1. Both are illustrated in Amina Okada, Indian Miniatures of the Mughal Court, 1992, p. 168, no. 201 and p. 43, no. 43.

2. J. P. Losty and Malini Roy, Mughal India: Art, Culture and Empire, 2012, pp. 77-78, figs.

38 and 39.

3. Stuart Cary Welch, Annemarie Schimmel, Marie L. Swietochowski and Wheeler M. Thackston, The Emperors’ Album: Images of Mughal India, 1987, pp. 96-97, pl. 9.

38 S A N D A LW O O D A N D I V O R Y P R E S E N TAT I O N C A S K E T India (Surat), dated 1935 Height: 11 cm Width: 41.5 cm Depth: 17 cm

This beautifully proportioned and exquisitely decorated sandalwood and ivory presentation casket, made by the firm of S. C. Feticarai in Surat, is a compendium of Indian wood carving and inlay decorative techniques. It is also a remarkable historical document, showing the many-layered connections between leading members of the British establishment in the last decades of the Raj, and the vast subcontinent of India that was soon to gain Independence from the United Kingdom on 15th August 1947 and partitioned into India and Pakistan. Both the fascinating family provenance of the casket and its decoration show these connections at a point in time just before the final withdrawal of the British.

The casket was commissioned by the Godhra City Municipality in Panchmahal, Gujarat, and presented as a ceremonial gift of honour on 21st December 1935 to Michael Knatchbull, 5th Baron Brabourne (1895-1939), who was the Governor of Bombay from 1930-1937 and thus during his tenure. From 1937-1939, Lord Brabourne was the Governor of Bengal, and for a short period from

25th June to 22nd October 1938, he was the Acting Viceroy and Governor-General of India.

The casket is of elegant elongated form, with a hinged chamfered lid secured by case clips and locked by a steel key. It stands on four silver clawed feel that bring the box to life by imparting an animal vigour while robustly animating the profile. This was an excellent decision on the part of the cabinet-makers as without the clawed feet on which the casket stands it would have been a more staid affair. The sandalwood panels are carved in relief with scrolling vines and leaves in which are perched confronted peacocks. Though the peacock was not officially declared the national bird of India until 1963, it is deeply bound to the history and culture of India and associated with various gods through the millennia; it is thus a potent symbol of the subcontinent and a much-loved decorative motif. The sandalwood panels are framed by micro-mosaic in the sadeli technique, composed of tiny pieces of alternating ivory, ebony and gleaming tortoiseshell inlaid in intricate geometric patterns including a zig-zag chevron band on the sloping shoulder of the lid.

Three recessed medallions with raised carving in relief to the centre decorate the lid. At the centre is an oval image of the Taj Mahal. On the right, looking in to survey the

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monument is Queen Victoria, the former Empress of India. On the left is a portrait of King George V, facing the viewer in three-quarter profile.

George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and the Emperor of India from 6th May 1910 until his death in 1936, one year after this box was made. He was therefore the ruling monarch of India when this box was presented to Lord Brabourne in 1935. As Knatchbull himself died in 1939, this casket and what it signifies mark a poignant and moving end to an era during the fading twilight years of the Raj. On the interior of the lid is a silver plaque engraved, “Presented by Godhra City Municipality on 21st December 1935 to His Excellency The Right Honourable Micheal [sic] Herbert Rudolf Knatchbull. Lord Brabourne, G.C.I.E., M.C. Governor of Bombay.” The casket encloses a printed silk scroll that documents the occasion of the presentation with a salutary message; the borders are worked with gold thread and ornamented with a wax pendant seal. On the bottom of the casket is a printed maker’s mark.

Though the casket is a nexus in time, its history continues and expands with multiple connections even after the death of Knatchbull in 1939, for his son the film producer John Knatchbull, the 7th Baron Brabourne, who inherited the title

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from his brother Norton the 6th Baron Brabourne who died in 1943, married Lady Patricia Mountbatten, later 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma, in 1946.

Patricia (14th February 1924-13th June 2017) was the eldest daughter of Louis Mountbatten, 1st Earl Mountbatten of

Burma, Viceroy and GovernorGeneral of India from 21st February 1947 to 15th August 1947, and after Independence, Governor-General of India until 21st June 1948. Patricia, her younger sister Pamela and their mother Edwina, the 1st Countess Mountbatten of Burma and last Vicereine of India, were all together with Lord Mountbatten in India during the critical period of India’s history. On their wedding day of 26th October 1946 at Romney Abbey, Patricia’s bridesmaids were Princess Elizabeth (she was third cousin to the Queen),

Princess Margaret, Princess Alexandra and her sister Pamela, who became Lady Pamela Hicks upon her marriage to the celebrated society decorator David Hicks.

This glittering family history took a tragic turn in August 1979 when her father Lord Mountbatten was assassinated on his boat which was blown up by the IRA off the shore of Mullaghmore, County Sligo. Lady Patricia was on the boat and she survived, but the tragedy took away her father, her son Nicholas and her mother-in-law, Doreen Knatchbull, the Dowager Baroness Brabourne, the wife of the 5th Lord Brabourne, Michael Knatchbull, to whom this box was presented so long ago in 1935 in Godhra. This Anglo-Indian casket is therefore through both decoration and ownership, a powerful symbol of the interconnected history between great British families and their once empire of India.

Provenance: Presented to Michael Knatchbull, 5th Baron Brabourne (1895–1939) during his tenure as Governor of Bombay (1930-1937) Patricia Knatchbull, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma

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India (Mughal), circa 1700 Height: 69.3 cm Width: 82.5 cm Depth: 8.5 cm

A carved red sandstone panel, the delicately speckled sandstone carved in relief with a profusion of flowers and leaves on scrolling vines.

The abundant vegetal scrolls rise from a base composed of vigorously curling acanthus leaves that support further leaves forming the shape of a waisted vase from which sprout a fan of bold acanthus leaves, surmounted by scrolling vines on which stylised iris and poppy flowers and buds bend and nod.

The floral designs are set within a square frame with broad borders on either side. The combination of various levels of relief with vegetal growth that seems at once vigorous yet languid imparts a sense of life sprouting before our very eyes.

Though the design is formal and essentially symmetrical, the

39 PRINCESS AND NOBLEMAN SHOOTING DEER India (Jodhpur), mid 17th century Height: 13.7 cm Width: 20.2 cm

Opaque watercolour on paper.

On the gentle slope of a rolling hill dotted with short trees and thorny shrubs, the sparse grassland interspersed with dry sandy outcrops characteristic of the Rajasthani landscape, a nobleman teaches a princess the art of shooting deer.

She kneels on the ground and takes aim at the gambolling deer ahead, the long barrel of her gun resting on the shoulder of the female attendant in front.

The nobleman has his left arm around the huntress, indicating that

he is instructing her in the skills of shooting, but the suggestion that this may also be a romantic assignation is strong, with hunting a pretext for seduction as indicated by the tender placement of his arm on her back as he guides her to take accurate aim.

He points at a grazing deer straight ahead and indicates that she should shoot this stationary animal rather than the other swiftly moving beasts.

The attendant helps with the aim, guiding the muzzle toward the deer.

To the lower right corner, another member of the shooting party loads her gun in readiness for her turn. A mature nilgai or male black buck with long elegant horns majestically surveys the scene from behind the curve of a hill. Nilgais leap in pairs, alert to the danger posed by the hunters and no doubt alerted by the sound of gunshots.

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This unfinished hunting scene can be attributed to Jodhpur in the mid to late seventeenth century. The palette and delicate rendering of the tree and landscape are close in style to a Jodhpur miniature of circa 1640-1650, “Princes Visiting Yogis by the Waterside”. This painting, formerly in the Bachofen von Echt Collection, was sold at the Sotheby’s London auction of 29th April 1992, lot 37, and illustrated on p. 77 of the auction catalogue, Indian Miniatures and Company School Paintings: The Collection of Baron and Baroness Bachofen von Echt, 1992. In this catalogue, Toby Falk suggests that the figure playing a stringed instrument is probably Maharaja Jaswant Singh of Jodhpur.1 The turban and general physiognomy of the nobleman in the present

hunting scene are close in style to that of several members of the Jodhpur court under Jaswant Singh (reigned 1638-1678). Specifically, he is almost identical to the figure of a courtier depicted in a fine preparatory sketch for a durbar scene dating to circa 1644-1645, now at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. This is published in Stuart Cary Welch, Indian Drawings and Painted Sketches: 16th through 19th Centuries, 1976, pp. 114-115. He is the third figure from the right in the triangular formation with Jaswant Singh at the apex, and is probably a representation of the same character as in our picture.

The nobleman in the V & A picture is not identified, but he must be a senior member of court as he sits facing Jaswant Singh with only one other courtier closer to the Maharajah. He is also shown in the same position within the hierarchy of courtiers in the coloured drawing of “Maharaja Jaswant Singh and nobles in durbar” at the British Museum, London, circa 1640-1642, which is closely related to the V & A drawing and shows the same people. The coloured drawing is published in Rosemary Crill, Marwar Painting: A History of the Jodhpur Style, 2000, p. 45, fig. 23; Crill also illustrates the V & A drawing on the same page in fig. 24.2 It is worth noting the very long barrel of the matchlock gun that rests on the shoulder of the female attendant.

Though partly obscured, the outlines of the gun are visible under the green wash. An almost identical composition can be seen in a Bikaner miniature of circa 1680, depicting “Ladies Hunting Deer” in the Prince of Wales Museum, Mumbai. This is published in Vishakha N. Desai, Life at Court: Art for India’s Rulers, 16th -19th Centuries, 1985, p. 80, no. 64.

Desai observes that “following the Mughal fashion of taking queens and princesses on royal hunts, Rajput rulers at Bikaner also encouraged their women to be adept at hunting.

In this hillside scene, we see a prince

pointing at a deer with one hand while holding the huntress with the other. The princess is helped by a female attendant who supports the barrel of the gun.”

Bikaner artists periodically visited the Jodhpur court and influenced the Jodhpur atelier with their soft Mughal colours and refined style. Though the Bikaner painting published by Desai is extremely refined and so beautifully finished that an attribution to the atelier of Ruknuddin can be suggested, the faces of the nobleman and princess are handsome idealisations, very different from the gruff but distinctly individual face of the nobleman in our painting.

“The belief that the emperor had a noble prerogative over life and death meant that he was entitled to be careless of human as well as animal life; this attitude is often unconsciously reflected in miniatures such as the scene of Aurangzeb balancing his rifle on a huntsman’s shoulders to shoot nilgai; the loud report of the gun, its kick and the danger of misfire were probably all taken as a matter of course by the attendant.”3 Provenance: The Stuart Cary Welch Collection Reference: 1. The Bachofen painting is also published in George Michell and Linda Leach, In the Image of Man: the Indian perception of the

A famous Mughal painting dating to circa 1660 in the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin depicting the “Emperor Aurangzeb hunting nilgais” may provide an imperial prototype for these Rajasthani pictures. This is published in Linda York Leach, Mughal and other Indian Paintings from the Chester Beatty Library, 1995, vol. I, p. 498, colour pl. 75 (11A.27).

Aurangzeb hunts nilgais at night on a hilly plain covered with trees and bushes. He kneels on a red carpet supporting the barrel of his rifle on the shoulders of the two squatting huntsmen. Desai compares the similarity in compositional features with the long gun resting on the shoulders of henchmen and the treatment of the light green landscape dotted with trees, parallels that can be drawn with our painting as well. The most telling parallel however, applicable to all these paintings, can be drawn from an astute observation made by Leach:

Universe through 2000 years of painting and sculpture, 1982, p. 171, no. 296, where Leach assigns it to Bikaner, no doubt on account of its delicate colouring and Mughalised style.

2. Also illustrated in Leach, 1982, no.

198; and Roda Ahluwalia, Rajput Painting: Romantic, Divine and Courtly Art from India, 2008, p. 90, no. 52.

3. Leach, 1982, p. 153; the Aurangzeb picture is illustrated on p.155, no. 212.

40 N O B L E M A N S E AT E D O N A P L AT F O R M India (Guler), circa 1740 Ascribed to Manaku of Guler Height: 19 cm Width: 28.5 cm

Ink on paper, inscribed with the number “115” in takri to the lower border.

A brush drawing from a Bhagavata Purana series.

A nobleman is seated on a platform with his arms resting on a shield.

He wears a turban and sports a large bushy moustache. A sword in its sheath is prominently displayed on the floor by his side, and tucked into his patka (sash) is a small knife in its scabbard. Standing behind the nobleman is an attendant carrying a handkerchief and waving a chowrie (flywhisk), a clear sign of the main figure’s royal status. The scene is framed by trees on the left and right.

The outdoor setting and the weapons carried by the nobleman suggest that he may be resting on his travels.

The presence of many weapons suggests the protagonist is alert to possible attack and is prepared to do battle, but the fact that the weapons remain sheathed indicate that the threat is as yet imminent rather than immediate.

This illustration is from an important set of drawings which are part of a Bhagavata Purana series produced at Guler around 1740. The series is unfinished but extensive, and comprises both finished paintings and hundreds of drawings such as the present, which pick up the narrative where the paintings end.

The series has been attributed by B. N. Goswamy and Eberhard Fischer to the master painter Manaku of Guler, son of Pandit Seu and elder brother of Nainsukh.

In their seminal exhibition and catalogue, Pahari Masters: Court Painters of India, 1992, at the Museum Rietberg, Zurich, Goswamy and Fischer publish four paintings and two drawings from this great Bhagavata Purana on pp. 258-263, nos. 105-110. They estimate that the series, consisting of the finished paintings and the drawings, may have run close to one thousand folios, a gigantic task which would have taken Manaku many years, even with the assistance of members of his prodigiously talented family.

While other members of the family workshop will have helped to complete the paintings, it is likely that Manaku worked on the drawings alone as he conceived of each scene.

They can be seen as “preliminary” rather than “preparatory” works, since Manaku seems to have been constantly thinking about his

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compositions and altering them, as shown by the under drawings in charcoal on some of the drawings that embody his first thoughts.

Unlike other drawings from the series, there is no inscription in takri on the top margin, making identification of the scene difficult, since the text is very extensive and there are all kinds of episodes, generally neglected, that Manaku seems to have chosen to illustrate.

The series is dense in its visual narration and scenes are treated expansively, with many pictures used to depict the detailed progress of an episode.

Only a few drawings of this series have been published. No. 109 illustrated in Goswamy and Fischer, 1992, is from the collection of Dr Jyoti and Nona Datta in Los Angeles, while no. 110 is in the Museum Rietberg, Zurich. For further discussion of the painter and two drawings also at the Rietberg, see the chapter on Manaku

by Goswamy and Fischer in Milo C. Beach, Eberhard Fischer and B. N. Goswamy (eds.) with Jorrit Britschgi (project director), Masters of Indian Painting II: 1650-1900, 2011, pp. 641658, figs. 11 and 11a.

Provenance: The Stuart Cary Welch Collection Acknowledgement: We would like to thank B. N. Goswamy for his expert advice.

41 MAHARANA ARI SINGH RIDING AHEAD OF AN ELEPHANT WHICH HAS THROWN ITS MAHOUT India (Udaipur), dated 1761 Height: 25.2 cm Width: 44.2 cm

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold and silver on paper.

Inscribed on the reverse in Hindi in devanagari identifying Maharana Ari Singh and numbered 3/234.

According to the inscription, the picture entered into the royal picture store on V.S.1818, jeth sud 1 (3rd June 1761).

The theme of elephants breaking loose from their chains and running amok, established as early as the Mughal period and seen also in the famous elephant paintings of the Deccan, became particularly popular in the Rajput courts of the eighteenth century. The theme and iconography of the enraged elephant finds its fullest and earliest expression in the text and paintings of the Akbarnama.

Akbar’s ability to master the mast or musth enraged bull elephant is a symbol of his ability to preside over an unruly populace and ride above the storms of political dissent. A ruler’s control of the rampaging beast is used iconographically in the same way as a king’s skills in hunting, horse riding and archery: to celebrate and legitimise his kingship and right to rule. Enraged elephants present an extreme challenge as the beasts rage with hormonal levels of testosterone sixty times above the norm and are thus prone to anger and rampage.

In this very dynamic painting, the charging elephant is candidly shown leaking seminal fluids and urine from his penis as he runs along

at top speed. This unflinching detail elevates the painting way above other more reticent examples of the genre.

By the time of the irascible Mewar ruler, Maharana Ari Singh (reigned 1761-1773) the deeper political implications of a ruler’s ability to control an elephant running amok were diminished in place of celebrating the feat as pure spectacle and diverting entertainment.

Despite his unpopularity and ruthlessness, Ari Singh presided over a period of abundant painting.

When depicted in his public persona, Ari Singh appears most often on horseback. During 1761-1762, the period of this picture in the first years of his reign, his artists produced a spate of equestrian procession scenes, showing him mounted on his favourite stallions with an entourage of up to twenty attendants on foot, in the well-worn convention developed under Sangram Singh.1 Solitary equestrian portraits were also produced, including spirited studies of the Rana wheeling at full speed as he practices horsemanship

or galloping alongside his boon companion Rupji.2 In other paintings, he is shown shooting wild boar from his horse while out hunting in the hills surrounding Udaipur. No doubt Ari Singh was a splendid horseman and wanted his painters to celebrate his riding skills while providing him with a glittering, heroic context in which to be depicted, rather different from the reality of his willful and illtempered character and the meagre achievements of his turbulent rule.3 In the present painting, the nimbated Ari Singh races ahead of the mad elephant on his stallion, skilfully holding the reins with his left hand while brandishing a talwar sword, still sheathed in its red velvet scabbard in his right. The sheathed sword tells us that he has no intention of using it on his prize elephant nor hurting the valuable beast, merely waving the sword to draw its attention and move it away from the thrown mahout (driver) for fear of trampling under its colossal weight. The elephant has broken chains around both rear ankles. Bringing up the rear are three attendants running in hot pursuit holding tall spears.

It is clear that they will be ineffective in subduing the elephant, they are so far behind and so ill-equipped.

It is only the heroic

Ari Singh, suave and dashing on his elegant and finely caparisoned steed, his skirt flaring in the wind and an expression of calm resolve on his handsome face, who can and will save the day.

For a circa 1800 Devgarh version of this subject in the style of Bagta, see our 2007 Simon Ray Indian & Islamic Works of Art catalogue, pp. 120-123, cat. no. 50. Here the ruler similarly and effortlessly outpaces an elephant running amok with snapped chains around its ankles, as hapless and ineffective attendants run alongside.

Provenance: Mewar Royal Collection, Udaipur The British Rail Pension Fund Published: Sotheby’s, Indian Miniatures: The Property of the British Rail Pension Fund, London, Tuesday 26th April 1994, lot 43.

Acknowledgement: We would like to thank Andrew Topsfield for his expert advice. The notes on the Mewar paintings in the British Rail Pension Fund auction were prepared by Topsfield for Toby Falk, so we very much appreciate his valuable insights.

References: 1. Andrew Topsfield, Court Painting at Udaipur: Art under the patronage of the Maharanas of Mewar, 2002, p. 199.

2. For equestrian portraits of Ari Singh see Andrew Topsfield, Paintings from Rajasthan in the National Gallery of Victoria, 1980, pp. 120 and 123, cat. nos. 170 and 179.

3. For a depiction of Ari Singh shooting boar on horseback, dated 1762, a year after our present picture but in the same manner, see Topsfield, 2002, p. 201, fig. 182. See also Topsfield, 1980, pp. 121-122, cat. nos. 171 and 175.

42 P R I N C E S S O N H O R S E B A C K E M B R A C E S H E R AT T E N D A N T India (Uniara or Bundi), 1770-1790 Height: 29.2 cm Width: 22 cm

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold on paper.

This delicious scene is set within the secretive, enclosed courtyard of the zenana quarters of a palace complex.

A princess wearing a diaphanous robe and a distinctive red hat in the European style is seated on a small but richly caparisoned prancing horse. Holding the reins with her left hand, she arches her back and twists round to embrace, with her right arm, the attendant strolling close behind the horse. The princess lowers her face towards that of the lady, who looks up as if inviting a kiss while fondling the breast of the princess with her hennaed hand. Both ladies have gentle smiles on their lips while gazing seductively at each other through elongated

eyes. Perhaps the noblewomen are enacting a scene of a departing prince now absent on horseback, but this alone would be insufficient explanation for the undeniable erotic frisson and spirit of romance generated by their close and tender embrace.

A lady holding a tray of drinks and condiments leads the horse forward by means of the most delicate of chains, towards the door and passage leading further into the zenana quarters, while behind the main group, a lady follows with a fan.

The figures move in stately fashion from left to right across a terrace paved with a chequerboard of red and blue tiles. The dense cluster of trees outside the palace wall seems eager to join in the embrace of the main couple. A branch spills over voluptuously to form a canopy for the lovers while echoing the leaning posture of the equestrian princess, uniting the backdrop with the central scene. On the left is a window partially shielded by a blind that plays into the theme of simultaneous hiding and revealing.

At the bottom of the painting is a lotus pond. The leaves and lotus flowers reach up in an echo of the branch reaching down, breaking the barrier between the water and the architecture, and linking the foreground to the central space.

Thus, the plants that penetrate the central space connect all three layers of the painting.

Continuing the theme of romance are ducks and fish that swim in pairs.

The subject is a well-known composition of which several published versions with variations to the activities and details of the ladies and lush foliage exist. An excellent example is in the Cynthia Hazen Polsky Collection, New York. This is illustrated in Andrew Topsfield (ed.), In the Realm of Gods and Kings: Arts of India, 2004, pp. 344-345, cat. no.

152. This has the same three-tiered structure linked by yearning plants reaching down from above and the waters of a fountain thrusting up into the central scene of ladies enacting a royal procession on horseback.

According to Andrew Topsfield, who dates these paintings to circa 1770, in the Polsky composition, the “blossoming tree and the broad fleshy leaves and pendulous pink flower in the adjoining gardens seem to spill over the courtyard wall and strain inwards through its doorways, as though irresistibly drawn by the lovely lady and her maids.”1 Topsfield notes that zenana scenes of ladies taking their leisure was a popular genre in the late eighteenth century with the Hari Rajput rulers of the Bundi region.2 Another version of this composition is illustrated in Stuart Cary Welch and Milo Cleveland Beach, Gods, Thrones, and Peacocks: Northern Indian Painting from Two Traditions: Fifteenth to Nineteenth Centuries, 1965, p. 100, pl. 66. Welch and Beach describe their painting as Bundi style at Uniara.

References: 1. Andrew Topsfield (ed.), In the Realm of Gods and Kings: Arts of India, 2004, p. 344.

2. Ibid.

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43 BANI THANI India (Kishangarh), circa 1770 Height: 26 cm Width: 18 cm

Opaque watercolour heightened with gold on paper.

A portrait of Bani Thani, the legendary courtesan of Maharaja Savant Singh of Kishangarh (born 1699, reigned 1748-1764). With her luscious black locks of hair and delicate shoulders covered by a diaphanous gossamer veil, translucent to the point of near transparency yet imparting a piquant green to the lobe of her ear and her string of pearls, she faces left holding a carnation in her hennaed finger tips. She wears an earring with a jewelled lotus from which dangles a pendant teardrop jewel and a nose ring embellished with pearls.

Who was Bani Thani? According to B. N. Goswamy, who describes the celebrated Kishangarh painting of circa 1735, “The Boat of Love” now at the National Museum, New Delhi, by the greatest painter from the Kishangarh atelier, Nihal Chand, who is credited with the creation of this remarkable visage with long dreamy eyes and finely chiselled features: “Bani Thani was not her real name, but a reference to her delicate form, tall and svelte, and fair of complexion.

There has been much difference of opinion about her role, even whether a person like her existed at all, but her name comes up each time that one speaks of Kishangarh painting.

That aquiline nose, the thrust-out chin, the thin lips, the high arched eyebrows; but, above all, those lotusbud like eyes that sweep across the face: starting from near the ridge of the nose, they take an upward curve, and end up almost close to the ear.

These marked the courtesan’s face as much as Radha’s whenever we see her in paintings of this period from Kishangarh.”1 If she did in fact exist in reality, her striking features would have been

observed, captured, stylised to a heightened degree and exaggerated by the master painter Nihal Chand who was born around 1705-1710 and died in 1782; he was active at Kishangarh over the reign of several rulers during a very long period of circa 1725 to 1782.2 According to Navina Haidar, he probably worked under the guidance of another great Mughal painter Bhavanidas, who also had a major period of work at Kishangarh.3 Haidar observes that Nihal Chand is rightly recognised as the creator of the inspired and influential style of painting that appeared in mid eighteenth century Kishangarh.

Our painting is later in date than the famous iconic image of Radha from circa 1740, attributed to Nihal Chand by most scholars and presumably inspired by the features of Bani Thani during its creation.

This is in the Kishangarh Durbar Collection and widely published, most recently in Navina Haidar, “Nihal Chand” in Milo C. Beach, Eberhard Fischer and B. N. Goswamy (eds.), Masters of Indian Painting II: 1650-1900, 2011, p. 602, fig. 6. The features here are sharper and more pronounced in every way, with the jutting chin and almond eyes attenuated to a heightened degree of impossible elegance. The more naturalist rendering and softening of features of our painting, though clearly derived from the iconic image, suggest to us the later date of circa 1770.

young slave girl as a singer in her palace and trained her in the art of poetry.4 Though she was twenty years younger than Savant Singh, she came to the notice of the young prince who fell in love with her and made her his mistress (pasvan).

It is conjectured that the bloom of her youth and beauty not only aroused unholy thoughts in the hearts of men who saw her, but also provided inspiration to the Kishangarh artists to whom credit is given for invention of the Kishangarh facial formula.5 Stuart Cary Welch, writing at the time of his exhibition, A Flower from Every Meadow: Indian Paintings from American Collections, 1973, p. 56, cat. no. 27, says that the story of Bani Thani was discounted recently by the late Maharaja of Kishangarh.

Nihal Chand also created for Savant Singh images of Krishna with the same striking features to complement those of Radha.

When Savant Singh relinquished his throne to his ambitious usurping younger brother Bahadur Singh, he retired to Vrindavan with Bani Thani where they wrote poetry together in a continuance of their dream-like existence and undying love. There they were visited by the great artist Nihal Chand.

Provenance: Spink and Son, London, 1997 Private English Collection References: 1. B. N. Goswamy, The Spirit of Indian

Besides Bani Thani herself and the painter Nihal Chand, the third component in the genesis of the image is Savant Singh the poet-king of Kishangarh who wrote three books of ardent verse drawing inspiration from the devoted worship of Krishna under the pen name of Nagaridas, which means “Radha’s Slave” or the “Humble Servant of Radha”.

Painting: Close Encounters with 101 Great Works 1100-1900, 2014, pp. 452-454.

See also the essay on the “Bower of Quiet Passion” attributed to Nihal Chand in B. N. Goswamy and Caron Smith, Domains of Wonder: Selected Masterpieces of Indian Painting, 2005, p. 94.

2. Navina Haidar, “Nihal Chand” in Milo C. Beach, Eberhard Fischer and B. N. Goswamy (eds.), Masters of Indian Painting II: 1650-1900, 2011, p. 595.

M. S. and D. S. Randhawa recall the local legend of how in 1731, an event took place that had a profound effect on the king’s career. Savant Singh’s stepmother employed a

110

3. Ibid.

4. Mohinder Singh Randhawa and Doris Schreier Randhawa, Kishangarh Painting, 1980, pp. 8-9.

5. Ibid.

44 C AVA L R Y M A N O F S K I N N E R ’ S H O R S E India (Haryana, Hansi), circa 1815-1816 Height: 20.1 cm Width: 14.8 cm

Pencil and opaque watercolour heightened with gold on paper.

This elegant standing portrait depicts a cavalry man of Skinner’s Horse, an irregular cavalry regiment of the Indian Army raised in 1803 by James Skinner (Sikander Sahib) in the service of the East India Company.

It was later renamed the 1st Bengal Lancers. The lancers of Skinner’s Horse wore yellow uniforms which were unique in the British Empire.

This distinctive rich yellow, close in shade to mustard or saffron, led to the regiment being nicknamed the “Yellow Boys” or the “Canaries”.

Our cavalry man wears a red turban and a yellow kurta (long shirt) fastened by an intertwining green and red patka (sash) worn as a cummerbund into which is tucked his flintlock pistol. Though this is a standard English flintlock, it was probably made in India where there were a few English gunmakers that set up shop in the country. His right hand rests on the hilt of a sheathed talwar sword and a beautifully observed touch is the tip of the sheath resting on his boot rather than on the ground. He carries a black shield on his back. The shoulder sword holder is a baldric of typical Indian form with cusped and shaped ends.

In April 1815, William Fraser was appointed Commissioner for the Affairs of Garhwal in the Punjab Hills, necessitating a tour of the lower Himalayas to familiarise himself with the area, on which he was accompanied by his brother James.

It was during their time in the

Himalayan foothills that James took up drawing with great enthusiasm. At Saharanpur, on their way back from the Hills, James’s difficulties with drawing figures of local Indians and dissatisfaction with his own sketches led him to ask William to hire an Indian artist to take likenesses of servants and Gurkhas.

These first pictures by an Indian artist, made at James’s request, were the genesis of the wonderful collection of Fraser pictures that have come to light.1 According to Mildred Archer and Toby Falk, the collection of over ninety coloured drawings by Indian artists found with the Fraser papers in 1979 have since been accepted as one of the finest groups of Company pictures yet known.2 Technically these drawings surpass all other Company pictures for their delicate realism, characterisation and subtle composition of groups.3 The success of Company pictures lies in the way in which an Indian artist was given freedom to exercise his talent with English encouragement and patronage, but not tuition or direct instruction by professional English painters, which would have had a very different result.4 By considering the Fraser pictures along with the documentation, especially the diaries and letters of James, who was a meticulous observer and detailed correspondent, as well as an amateur artist whose sketches produced two masterly series of aquatints, we can more fully understand the way in which English interaction with Indian artists created the Company paintings.5 The artist hired by James would probably have come from Delhi and would have been practised at drawing figures. Archer and Falk suggest that because James himself made several attempts at drawing Gurkhas, he would no doubt have

113

shown his own drawings to the artist and it must have been James’s example that led to the European compositions of these groups, with their lines of interrelated standing figures, or single standing figures such as the present portrait, set against a plain background.6 On their return to Delhi, William hired an Indian painter at James’s request to sketch architectural subjects and figures of horsemen, officers, fakirs and camels, now sadly lost. When James left for Calcutta in June 1816, he left instructions with William for further drawings and William took an artist with him during his tours. James himself realised the potential of these portraits as a record of the great variety of Indian groups, their costumes and ways of life from unknown regions. They remain the earliest detailed visual record of people from the Hills and other parts of Rajasthan.7 By 1819, another forty pictures had been finished and sent to James in Calcutta by William.

The Fraser pictures are of special significance as they were made in the Delhi territory, an area not taken over by the British until after 1803, far from Calcutta where the finest Company pictures had hitherto been painted in a very different style.8 Company paintings in the Delhi region before the Fraser project were almost exclusively of architectural monuments so the Fraser pictures, depicting people and costumes in an area until now untouched by European presence or example, represent a radical new departure.

Though we cannot know for certain who painted each Fraser picture as neither James or William recorded the painters’ names, Archer and Falk suggest that on stylistic grounds the paintings may be ascribed to a single family of painters, that of Ghulam Ali Khan.9

114

A number of subjects in the Fraser Album were members of the private regiment of Colonel James Skinner, a British military adventurer in India who was of Anglo-Indian descent and a great friend of William. Skinner, who pursued a lavish lifestyle in the manner of Indian princes and was famous for his eccentric character, raised a regiment of irregular cavalry known as “Skinner’s Horse” at his estate and farm at Hansi, the capital of ancient Haryana, founded in the eighth century. The town is to the north-west of Delhi. William bred horses on Skinner’s farm as an extra source of income and also because new breeding stock was a constant concern for the East India Company.10 Skinner’s troops were highly trained and extremely skilled, and they earned fame as the best light cavalry regiment of that time. Skinner had their uniforms specially designed, the signature colours being bright yellow and scarlet, leading to the moniker, “The Yellow Boys”. As early as August 1815, a few months after his appointment as Commissioner, William had been offered a rank in Skinner’s Horse, though it was not until October of 1817 that he received official permission to accept it from Charles Metcalfe, the Delhi Resident to whom he was accountable.11 William, with his experience of recruiting able men, was a great help to Skinner and many of William’s irregulars from the Nepal war were transferred to Skinner’s horse.12 The luminous, translucent colour is the perfected Company School technique of coloured drawing, akin to watercolour but with the additional use of more opaque pigments.

For an illustration of a Skinner cavalryman wearing a red jacket, see Archer and Falk, 1989, p. 120, pl. 112.

Ummee Chund, the youth who saved William’s life by foiling an attempted assassination on 18th March 1819, is depicted in the full uniform of red jacket under the yellow coat of Skinner’s Horse on p. 44, pl. 18.

Richardson was knighted by Queen Elizabeth

Provenance:

“So diverse are the things that have come my

William and James Baillie Fraser

way that I had to make a virtue of necessity

Sir John Richardson

and mix them all together …” said Sir John

in 2012 for his service to the arts. In addition to the Picasso biographies, Richardson wrote a memoir in 1999, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, and published a collection of essays in 2011 titled Sacred Monsters, Sacred Masters.

Richardson, renowned Picasso scholar, John Patrick Richardson was born in London

curator and bon vivant, referring to the

in 1924 to Sir Wodehouse Richardson

eclectic collection that filled his lower Fifth

and Patty (née Crocker). His father was a

Avenue loft. Richardson’s collection of art

Quarter-Master General in the Boer War and

and objects included works by Picasso and

the founder of the Army & Navy Stores in

Warhol, Old Master prints, Neo-classical

Britain. Sir Wodehouse died when John was

busts, photographs, porcelain, furniture and

five years old. He was sent away to boarding

colourful textiles acquired over a lifetime

school and then enrolled at the Slade

of travel around the world. Housed in the

School of Fine Art at age sixteen to pursue

lush, bohemian interior of his New York City

his artistic ambitions. At the outbreak of

apartment that welcomed artists, academics

WWII, Richardson was called up for military

and socialites alike, his collection represents

service in the Irish Guards but very quickly

the multi-layered life that Richardson

contracted rheumatic fever and was invalided

lived and is his autobiography in “things”,

out of the army. He spent the rest of the

providing a rare insight into the life of an

war in London with his mother and siblings,

extraordinary man.

working as an industrial designer and later writing for The New Observer. In 1949,

Published:

Richardson met collector and art historian

Mildred Archer and Toby Falk, India Revealed:

Douglas Cooper. They would become a

The art and adventures of James and William

couple for the next ten years, moving in

Fraser 1801-35, 1989, p. 133, pl. 135.

1952 to the Chateau de Castille in the South of France. Cooper introduced Richardson to

Acknowledgement:

many artists, including Picasso, Léger, and

We would like to that Robert Hales for his

Braque who would all become close friends.

expert advice and kind identification of the

In 1960, Richardson left Cooper and moved

weapons worn by our cavalryman of

to New York City where he would organise

Skinner’s Horse.

several important exhibitions on Picasso and Braque. London-based auction house

References:

Christie’s asked Richardson to open their

1. Mildred Archer and Toby Falk, India

New York office and appointed him to run it

Revealed: The art and adventures of James

for the next nine years. Following his time at

and William Fraser 1801-35, 1989, p. 45.

Christie’s, Richardson joined M. Knoedler &

2. Ibid., pp. 44-46.

Co. where he oversaw 19th and 20th century

3. Ibid., p. 40.

paintings. In 1980, John Richardson decided

4. Ibid., p. 44.

to dedicate himself to writing and focused on

5. Ibid.

the biography of Picasso that he had begun

6. Ibid., p. 45.

thinking about during his years in France. The

7. Ibid., p. 43.

first of four planned volumes, A Life of Picasso,

8. Ibid., p. 45.

was published in 1991 and won a Whitbread

9. Ibid., p. 46.

Award. The second volume was published

10. Ibid., p. 17.

in 1996, and the third in 2007. Volume four

11. Ibid., p. 38.

was still in progress upon his death in 2019.

12. Ibid., p. 39.

115

45 T R O U P E O F T R AV E L L I N G E N T E R TA I N E R S India (Delhi), 1820-1830 Height: 9.8 cm Width: 13.4 cm

Opaque watercolour on paper.

Inscribed in Persian to the lower border: naqshe-ye bhandan va naqqalan raqs mikonand va tamasha mikonand “Painting of musicians and storytellers. They are dancing and watching” The word bhand means musician in some parts of India but the term also encompasses the related meanings of mimic, jester, harlequin and clown, and is thus the perfect description of the characters in this charming and lively illustration of a band of travelling entertainers, painted in a style associated with Delhi in the early nineteenth century.

In the catalogue entry that Stuart Cary Welch wrote for his pioneering New York exhibition, Room for Wonder: Indian Painting during the British Period 1760-1880, 1978, p. 110, cat. no. 47, he explains:

spoof all that is holy, the composition is a take-off on a well-known genre of painting in nineteenth century Delhi, the group of dancing girls strung out with musicians across the page, for example two contemporary circa 1820 pictures, now at the Victoria and Albert Museum, illustrated in Mildred Archer, Company Paintings: Indian Paintings of the British Period, 1992, pp. 156-157, cat. no. 134(2) and pp.

164-165, cat. no. 145.

Another unpublished painting was done for Colonel James Skinner himself and given to a friend possibly as a memento of just such an evening’s entertainment.

This listed in Mildred Archer, Company Drawings in the India Office Library, 1972, no. 173. Other

Delhi paintings in a similar style may be seen in Sheila R. Canby, Princes, Poets & Paladins: Islamic and Indian paintings from the collection of Prince and Princess Sadruddin Aga Khan, 1998, pp. 182-183, nos. 141-142; and Linda York Leach, Mughal and other Indian Paintings from the Chester Beatty Library, 1995; vol. II, pp. 787788, no. 7.119, this last painting was perhaps also done for Skinner.

According to Welch, our tiny and exquisite picture is the work of an anonymous but brilliant painter who illustrated a particularly rich copy of the Gulistan of Sa‘di, now in a Tehran private collection.2 The manuscript is dated 1820 and its many finely painted and imaginative pictures abound in contemporary observations in addition to illustrating the poet’s witty anecdotes.3 Welch notes that the artist’s humorous style can also be associated with pictures made for Colonel Skinner, a wellknown Delhi figure in the early nineteenth century, of Anglo-Indian descent and

eccentric character, who would have found the bhand much to his taste.

The leader of the crack irregular cavalry “Skinner’s Horse” was a generous host, who often presented his guests with paintings of the evening’s entertainments, such as the picture listed above by Archer; conceivably this was also one of those pictures.

The heavily stippled technique recalls not so much the Fraser artist of 1815-1816, but one of his younger colleagues who worked for Skinner on his manuscript illustrating the origins and occupations of some of the sects, castes and tribes of India, the Tashrih al-Aqvam of 1825, now in the British Library, London (Add. 27255).

Cary Welch’s handwritten notes on the backboard of the frame are as follows: “A wild spoof of all that was holy ardhanari (...), slipper-beating, Kathak dancing” “This picture was sold by Charles Ewart to Sven Gahlin for £1. He sold it to Bob Alderman and Marc Zebrowski, from whom I acquired it” Provenance:

“A bhand was a group of raunchy buffoons, who were eager to entertain at marriages, or any other kind of merry occasion. Here, they spoof all that was serious and sacrosanct to Hindus and Muslims alike: Lord Siva himself, shown in his hermaphroditic or Ardhanari form, combining his masculine self with that of his beloved, Parvati; the profound art of Kathak dancing; and Sufis, the mystically oriented Muslim holy men. In the right foreground, a clownish fellow ‘smokes’ a hookah improvised from a twisted sash, while the pot-bellied cut-up at the left sports a turban tied around his slipper, an object of utter contamination”.1

Charles Ewart Sven Gahlin Robert Alderman and Mark Zebrowski The Stuart Cary Welch Collection Exhibited and Published: Stuart Cary Welch, Room for Wonder: Indian Painting during the British Period 1760-1880, The American Federation of Arts, New York, 1978, p. 110, cat. no. 47.

Acknowledgements: We would like to thank Jerry Losty for his expert advice and Will Kwiatkowski for his interpretation of the inscription.

References: 1. Stuart Cary Welch, Room for Wonder: Indian Painting during the British Period 1760-1880, 1978, p. 110.

Jerry Losty has observed that not only does the subject matter

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

46 OT TOMAN BROCADE Turkey (Ottoman), 17th century Length: 120.5 cm Width: 86 cm

An elegant length of silk brocaded with metal thread (kemha), woven on a rich burgundy satin ground with an ogival lattice containing composite lotus palmettes. Within each ogival floats a golden lotus palmette with serrated edges against a red ground. The lotus palmettes each contain a formal bouquet of paired and intertwined flowers on twisting stems that flank a sixpetalled composite rosette at the centre. The classic Ottoman tulips, carnations, and nodding hyacinths are surmounted by a heraldic tulip with bifurcated leaves at the apex.

Touches of lilac blue add a piquant zest to the rich colour palette. In the wide border of each ogival is a chain of serrated saz leaves on linked stems forming a continuous encircling ribbon motif.

While we often see the lattice of Ottoman ogival designs in bold unadorned colours, so that the staggered medallions “float” against a plain background, in this kemha brocade the lattice is even more densely decorated to opulent effect.

Six-petalled flower-heads with lobed trefoil petals woven in gold thread alternate with clusters of three gold cintamani dots for a glittering display against the red ground. The design of three “auspicious jewels”, which originated as Buddhist flaming pearls, makes the vocabulary of Ottoman motifs on this kemha almost complete with the classical flowers and saz leaves; we lack only the wavy bands or tiger stripes that are more frequently seen as a motif in themselves within the ogivals, or on broad plain kaftans where they are deployed on a grand scale to stunning effect.

The ogival layout is commonly encountered in kemha weaving but the variations seem infinite, despite the same motifs appearing repeatedly.

Within the constraints of the ogival form and the small core repertoire of motifs, the designs are endlessly imaginative and combined in diverse, ever-surprising ways. As so often seen in many art forms with well-defined parameters, constraints seem to impel invention. In the present brocade, the freshness of the design stems from its spell-binding complexity and lushness of effect.

Comparable kemha ogival designs from both the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries are illustrated in Nurhan Atasoy, Walter B. Denny, Louise W. Mackie and Hülya Tezcan, İpek: The Crescent & the Rose: Imperial Ottoman Silks and Velvets, 2001, pp.

272-281. The authors define the kemha as a type of multi-coloured silk cloth woven in a lampas structure and brocaded with metal threads.

Kemha is also used as the generic term for brocaded silk.1 According to the authors, lampas is a compound weave combining two weaves, each with a warp and a weft, interconnected to form one fabric.2 The preferred Ottoman Turkish structure combines a 4/1 satin foundation weave with a 1/3 supplementary twill weave in the Z direction.3 Provenance: Bernheimer Christie’s South Kensington, 4th May 2001, lot 144 Published: Bernheimer Fine Arts, Oriental Carpets and Textiles, October 1987, cat. no. 7.

References: 1. Nurhan Atasoy, Walter B. Denny, Louise W, Mackie and Hülya Tezcan, İpek: The Crescent & the Rose: Imperial Ottoman Silks and Velvets, 2001, pp. 341-342.

2. Ibid.

3. Ibid.

118

121

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