A Cache Uncovered: Workshop Drawings of Oomersee Mawjee & Sons of Kutch

In every sphere of social life, formality and decorum were the hallmark of the Raj. It was customary to ‘dress’ for dinner, and for men this implied a dinner jacket, stiffly starched shirt, and bow tie even when the temperature was warm and the humidity high. Formal bands played at functions as ordinary as tea parties if they were hosted by the wife of an important government official. Dinner parties with elaborate menus, and seating arrangements governed not only by seniority but also by the strict protocol of British India, were regular events. The ‘call’ too was a ritual, the very first step towards acceptance in local society, fitting neatly into the then prevalent conventions of social life. In the days of the Raj, calling cards had a very different connotation from the business cards of today’s world.

It is no exaggeration to state that without the call, “the newcomer did not exist socially;” 1 the call was an indispensable preliminary to qualify for an invitation to any social event. One of the first tasks of newcomers to a cantonment, the official British enclave of a town, was to make this ‘call,’ and for this ritual everyone ordered calling cards of special elegance with their name printed in stylish lettering. Clad appropriately and formally, and carrying these cards, both new residents and visitors moved from one bungalow to the next. The ritual of the call was just that: the call was absolutely mandatory, and it was equally understood that the persons called upon, be ‘Not at Home.’ They might actually have been seated only a few yards away from the front door, but it would be opened by a ‘bearer’ who would receive the callers’ cards on a salver. Margaret Macmillan explains in her study of women in Raj India that in hill stations, where the path up to the house was steep and tortuous, the occupants frequently nailed up name boards down below proclaiming a ‘Not At Home’ message upon a box into which to drop calling cards! 2

Most Presidencies required the newcomer to initiate the process of the call. Married couples made the call together,

Left: Close-up of No. 3, Calling Card Case Featuring Krishna bachelors on their own, while unmarried women were accompanied by their local hostess. Strict rules that varied from one region to another governed the card or cards to be left, indicating that one had called. In Bombay Presidency, when a government service couple called upon a superior officer and his wife, the new officer would leave two cards, one to indicate he had called upon his superior and the second to indicate his respects to the superior’s lady. The newcomer wife, on the other hand, was to leave only a single card to denote her respects to the senior officer’s wife on whom alone it was appropriate that she call.

Printed on thick ivory paper, calling cards required a carry-case to keep them from getting soiled. Silver calling card cases were made in every part of India, each displaying the regional decoration characteristic of that area. Card cases from Calcutta featured rural life; those from Kutch carried tight scroll work; those from Kashmir displayed the chinar leaf and poppy pattern; those from Madras were of the Swami (gods), silver type; while Lucknow card cases featured the ‘jungle’ pattern. Cases were hinged, either along the short top side, so that cards could be inserted vertically, or along the longer rectangular side, so cards could be slipped in sideways; occasionally, card cases had a removable lid along the shorter top side. It appears that men usually carried a smaller and narrower card, while ladies’ cards were somewhat larger; the calling card cases displayed here all seem intended for ladies. Several of these richly decorated silver card cases feature a shield in the midst of the pattern to receive the owner’s initials.

1 • Calling Card Case Featuring Durga Madras, ca. 1880 Silver H: 8 cm x 5 cm x 1.5 cm Inscription: ‘Dorothy’ in fine cursive script along top edge of case

In the style typical of Swami silver, calling card cases from Madras are invariably adorned with one or another god from the Hindu pantheon. A repoussé image of goddess Durga riding her lion mount adorns both faces of this calling card case, which hinges back at its top for the vertical insertion of cards. Crowned, eight-armed Durga sits side-saddle upon a fierce heraldic lion that resembles the mythical yali, a leonine creature often portrayed with an elephant’s trunk, and she holds a conch shell and a discus in her two upper hands testifying to her southern identity as the sister of god Vishnu. A parasol that speaks of her elevated status interrupts the scalloped arch within which she is placed; flanking the arch and carrying a lute-like vina are flying celestials whose bodies extend across the hinged cover of the case. Following Durga is the sage Vyaghrapada (his name literally means ‘he with the feet of a tiger’); his hair is pulled into a topknot while the lower half of his body is portrayed as that of a tiger with clawed feet placed upon a lotus flower. Durga’s lion places its hind legs on an elephant and its forelegs on a demonic human figure which appears to be escaping from the elephant. While the iconography of Durga is clear, the accompanying figures are curious, as it is with much of Swami silver imagery. It is useful to remind ourselves that strict iconographic accuracy was not necessary in the social context of the production and the usage of such silverware.

2 • Calling Card Case with Vishnu and Consorts Madras, ca. 1880 Silver H: 10 cm x 7 cm x 1.5 cm Maker’s mark: ORR within small stamped rectangle on interior lip

God Vishnu, holding the conch shell and discus in two of his four hands, and seated between his consorts – Bhudevi, goddess of earth and Shri Lakshmi, goddess of wealth – is featured on one face of this calling card case which opens along its length with the aid of a push-button device. Exuberant vine foliage, emerging from the mouth of a lion-headed motif known as kirtimukha or face of glory, encloses the deities, while the lower section of the case echoes this motif. Each corner, enclosed by curving vine tendrils, carries a winged celestial figure.

The reverse of the case features a bull-headed male deity with four arms, who stands on a raised platform within an aureole topped with a kirtimukha (‘face of glory’), and is flanked by two female attendants. The vine tendrils surrounding the shrine contain four semi-divine beings that include one fish-tailed image; immediately below is a medallion for an inscription that was never added, while the lower section carries the figure of an elephant flanked by two males. Since one face features Vishnu, there is a natural inclination to seek a Vaishnava identification for the bullheaded figure; however, the only figure portrayed thus would be Nandi, the bull of Shiva. Perhaps it is futile to seek consistency of sectarian iconography in silver objects which were never intended to be viewed in a sacred context. This is especially so since sales catalogs of P. Orr & Sons feature the two sides of this calling card case independently, on two different pages, although cross-checking reveals that the drawings for both faces are numbered 410. 3

3 • Calling Card Case Featuring Krishna 4 Madras, ca. 1880 Silver H: 10 cm x 7 cm x 1 cm (See also page 70)

Both faces of this case with elegant scalloped edges are adorned with different forms of the popular god Krishna. Contained within a central medallion upheld by a dwarfish figure, one side features an image of Krishna dancing upon the serpent demon Kaliya whom he has subdued; at the four corners, in the midst of vine tendrils, are four semi-divine beings. On the other side, within an arched shrine topped with a lion-headed kirtimukha motif, stands Krishna flanked on each side by an adoring gopi or cowherdess, who eagerly grasps his hand with one arm while waving a chowri fan with the other. A male devotee with palms joined in the anjali gesture of adoration stands on either side. Immediately below the shrine is a cartouche for an inscription that was never added. Two flying divinities with wings are depicted in the upper corners, with the hinged top imperceptibly dividing these figures into two sections; two seated semi-divine beings occupy the lower corners.

With a hinged top and smooth cylindrical edges, both sides of this visiting card case carry the typical Lucknow ‘jungle’ pattern of a thick grove of date palms growing out of an irregular base of mounded grass, and inhabited by animals and birds. One side features a tiger, an elephant, and a man climbing a tree, with a parrot in the upper branches; its top cover depicts an elephant, and a tiger. The other side depicts hyenas, and a man climbing a tree, while a bird perches in the higher branches; its long, narrow top cover carries a hare, a hyena, and a stork. The carving is well executed and continuous across the case except for a smooth polished band separating the body from the top cover.

Calling card cases from Kutch invariably feature the tight scrolling motif typical of the region, interspersed with animals, birds, or a hunting scene. This particular case with a hinged cover features on both faces parakeets inserted in the midst of scrolling foliage against a textured background. One face displays a shield devoid of initials, flanked by two parakeets facing outwards and two inwards. The second face features three parakeets in a triangular formation — the central one on its upper tier and two more in the lower segment. Both faces are bordered with a leafy scroll that creates an intricately scalloped edge which is smoothly polished.

With a deeply cut scrolling floral pattern upon a textured background, and a geometric border on all four sides, this calling card case features an animal with a rider on each face. A well-caparisoned elephant ridden by its mahout holding an elephant goad in hand is portrayed on one face, while the other depicts a horse with a rider holding the reins in one hand and a long spear in the other. Floral motifs add further decoration to the edges of the case.

Against a textured background, this case features a single, swaying branch, with six deeply curved stems, each yielding abundant flowers of six different varieties. A banded border runs around the case, and its edges carry an incised fern-like pattern. The detachable cover is barely discernible, since the case and its top fit smoothly together and are designed as a single-patterned composition.

8 • Left-Handed Calling Card Case Kutch, ca . 1880 Silver H: 10.2 cm x 7.7 cm x 1.1 cm Inscription: Initials HMK within central shield

With its hinge along the length of its vertical side, this case has its snap latch on the left when the case is held with the initials facing one, suggesting that it was specially made for a left-handed owner. It is adorned with deeply cut floral foliage against a textured background, with an undulating corded border and an undulating edge. The face that carries the central shield with the initials HMK, features frolicking parakeets at each of the four corners; the other face carries similarly placed parakeets within an overall symmetrical floral pattern.

With a hinged cover along its vertical length, and a snap latch, this calling card case that features a diamond foliate pattern against all four edges, opens fully like a well-bound book. Both its faces are adorned with the same scrolling foliage against a textured background; in the center of one side is a plain oval medallion intended for an inscription.

With deeply cut Kutchi floral foliage against a textured background, this case features hunting scenes on both its faces, and a running animal along its hinged cover. One face portrays a turbaned rider kneeling upon a caparisoned elephant, about to thrust his spear into a lion already gored by the elephant’s tusks. The cover on this face features a hare running through exquisitely stylized foliage. The other face features a turbaned rider with a spear in hand, mounted on a horse, hunting a boar; the hinged cover depicts a wild dog in the foliage. An oval medallion on the top narrow edge of the case seems intended for an inscription.

The most popular patterns adorning the silverware of Kashmir are based on the flora and fauna of the valley and include the leaf of the chinar or plane tree, the poppy flower, and the coriander or rosette pattern. This slim case, hinged along its side to open like a book, carries extensive high relief decoration in three levels. Upon the textured ground of the first level is a second level of chased decoration consisting of multiple vines with small rosette flowers; an even more highly raised third level of work features chinar leaves, poppies, small buds and leaves. The sides of the case are adorned with incised geometric designs.

Flowers and leafy vines cover all surfaces of this rectangular card case including its rounded edges and hinged lid. A small plain silver shield on each side remains without its inscription. As was customary with many card cases, a solid band of unadorned silver runs along the edge where the lid meets the case.

13 • Match Case Kashmir, ca. 1890 Silver H: 5.5 cm x 3.5 cm x 1 cm

This small rectangular case with a hinged top seems to have been intended to hold a box of matches. Each side is adorned with one large multi-petaled poppy flower surrounded by a curving vine from which emerge small rosette flowers. The same small flowers on a vine are featured on the cover of the match case, while its narrow sides have diagonal stripes.

14 • Calling Card Case with Rural Scenes Calcutta, ca. 1900 Silver H: 10 cm x 6.8 cm x 1 cm Inscription: AAW monogram

With scalloped edges and a floral border motif on both sides, this card case opens along its narrow end with a hinge at the right edge of the monogrammed side. Against a textured background, both faces are covered with scenes of village and town life. The side that carries a shield at its center inscribed with the initials AAW, portrays multiple huts, and brick houses amidst trees; one villager carries a bundle slung on a stick while a second approaches a well. On the other side, as many as 10 huts stretch into the distance amidst trees, while another four adorn the hinged cover. The immediate foreground portrays scenes around a well, with one woman approaching it with a water pot, while another pours water into a pot with vegetation. A third figure, portrayed on the hinged cover, sits before a hut.