Description
A GOLD AND SILVER-INLAID (KOFTGARI) STEEL EWER WITH EAGLES AN EYE FOR DETAIL: PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE ESTATE IN NORTHERN LONDON Possibly Sialkot, Punjab, or Gujarat, Northern India, 17th - 18th century Of compressed pyriform shape, resting on a short, splayed, circular foot, rising to a globular body and tall, flared neck surmounted by a hemispherical, dome-like lid with a budding lotus as finial, on the sides an upward-curved lotus spout and a stylised sinuous dragon handle, the exterior profusely decorated with the typical koftgari (damascening) technique in silver and gold displaying overlapping horizontal decorative bands featuring lavish vegetal meanderings and floral sprays, often contained within lobed arches or roundels, on the neck wing-spread eagles alternating oval medallions in-filled with stylised floral bouquets, each band separated by thin geometric fretwork friezes, 25.3cm high. Provenance: Bonhams New Bond Street, London, 28 April 2005, lot 592. This lot showcases a rather original and unique blend of foreign and autochthonous traditions: its shape is reminiscent of 15th and 16th-century Timurid jugs; the decoration in koftgari technique was originally from Iran, but the vibrancy and variety of its content can be unequivocally ascribed to Indian craftsmen' genius. The koftgari decor on the neck is particularly fine and rather uncommon in terms of North Indian vessels' decorative repertoire. The standing eagles with widely spread wings are presented in a style echoing European heraldic blazons and coats of arms. In Europe, the iconography of the heraldic eagle, used as a charger, supporter, and crest, was inspired by the Late Medieval tradition and rested on a dual symbolism: on one hand it was seen as a symbol of the Roman Empire; on the latter, according to Christian iconography, it represented St. John the Evangelist. Though particularly beloved in the German and Saxon provinces, the single-headed heraldic eagle featured on a number of Portuguese coats of arms as well, as evident in several 16th-century manuscripts including Livro da Nobreza e Perfeiçam das Armas (1521), where the Melo / Mello family crest features an analogous eagle to ours as their heraldic symbol. It does not seem far-fetched to speculate that Indian koftgari steel creations caught the eyes of Western travellers and officials, so much so that they might have likely commissioned special vessels as mementos, requesting local craftsmen to incorporate alien designs and foreign symbols.
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A GOLD AND SILVER-INLAID (KOFTGARI) STEEL EWER WITH EAGLES AN EYE FOR DETAIL: PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE ESTATE IN NORTHERN LONDON Possibly Sialkot, Punjab, or Gujarat, Northern India, 17th - 18th century Of compressed pyriform shape, resting on a short, splayed, circular foot, rising to a globular body and tall, flared neck surmounted by a hemispherical, dome-like lid with a budding lotus as finial, on the sides an upward-curved lotus spout and a stylised sinuous dragon handle, the exterior profusely decorated with the typical koftgari (damascening) technique in silver and gold displaying overlapping horizontal decorative bands featuring lavish vegetal meanderings and floral sprays, often contained within lobed arches or roundels, on the neck wing-spread eagles alternating oval medallions in-filled with stylised floral bouquets, each band separated by thin geometric fretwork friezes, 25.3cm high. Provenance: Bonhams New Bond Street, London, 28 April 2005, lot 592. This lot showcases a rather original and unique blend of foreign and autochthonous traditions: its shape is reminiscent of 15th and 16th-century Timurid jugs; the decoration in koftgari technique was originally from Iran, but the vibrancy and variety of its content can be unequivocally ascribed to Indian craftsmen' genius. The koftgari decor on the neck is particularly fine and rather uncommon in terms of North Indian vessels' decorative repertoire. The standing eagles with widely spread wings are presented in a style echoing European heraldic blazons and coats of arms. In Europe, the iconography of the heraldic eagle, used as a charger, supporter, and crest, was inspired by the Late Medieval tradition and rested on a dual symbolism: on one hand it was seen as a symbol of the Roman Empire; on the latter, according to Christian iconography, it represented St. John the Evangelist. Though particularly beloved in the German and Saxon provinces, the single-headed heraldic eagle featured on a number of Portuguese coats of arms as well, as evident in several 16th-century manuscripts including Livro da Nobreza e Perfeiçam das Armas (1521), where the Melo / Mello family crest features an analogous eagle to ours as their heraldic symbol. It does not seem far-fetched to speculate that Indian koftgari steel creations caught the eyes of Western travellers and officials, so much so that they might have likely commissioned special vessels as mementos, requesting local craftsmen to incorporate alien designs and foreign symbols.
