Much Indian silver has no marking at all, but Kutch silver is distinguished by its closely worked, foliate, répoussé and chased design. The preliminary répoussé pattern was punched from back, after which the piece was filled with a resin compound, then worked from the outside, by hammering it into the resin. When the work was complete, the piece was heated until the resin filling melted out, leaving the now-empty piece stunningly decorated.
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Partridge Tea Service
Oomersi Mawji (O.M.), ca. 1870, Bhuj, Kutch, India
Oomersi Mawji (O.M.), ca. 1870, Bhuj, Kutch, India
Sterling Silver
Dimensions: Various 9 1/8 in. and 5 ½ in. high (23 and 14 cm), Weight: 45 oz. (1276 grams)
Dimensions: Various 9 1/8 in. and 5 ½ in. high (23 and 14 cm), Weight: 45 oz. (1276 grams)
This museum-quality, exquisite partridge (or francolin) tea service should not be considered as a set of serving vessels, but rather as sculpture. As Oomersi Mawji was wont to do in some of the animals he has depicted against foliate backgrounds, he here depicts a life-and-death struggle; in this case, a mother bird, a snake having wrapped itself around her neck, is being strangled. Her two chicks, one, the sugar bowl with closed-wing lid; the other, the milk jug with raised-wing handle, observe their mother’s plight in alarm.
Mawji was the master of animals depicted in dramatic struggles: deer chased by hounds, or elephants, their tusks entangled, engaged in mortal combat.
The teapot has two double-rimmed ivory insulators, and the bases of all three birds are stabilized by the snakes beneath their feet. Each feather is rendered and incised individually, as is each realistic scale on the snakes’ bodies. Mawji did not do many pieces of this type—that did not bear the influence of the sentimental and flowery style of the Victorian era. (This writer has seen a parrot-head parasol handle and a duck’s head cane top, e.g., but those pieces were devoid of the drama and raw emotion depicted here.) “O.M. Bhuj” cameo punches on snakes.
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Square-Form Tea Service
Oomersi Mawji (O.M.), ca. 1890, Bhuj, Kutch, India
Sterling Silver
Teapot: 6 1⁄4 in. h (15.9 cm), 26.52 oz. (749 grams)
Cream pitcher: 3 7/8 in. h (9.9 cm), 9.48 oz. (269 grams)
Sugar bowl: 3 1⁄2 in. h (8.9 cm), 13.27 oz. (376 grams)
Tea Service Weight: 49.27 oz. (1,397 grams)
Oomersi Mawji (O.M.), ca. 1890, Bhuj, Kutch, India
Sterling Silver
Teapot: 6 1⁄4 in. h (15.9 cm), 26.52 oz. (749 grams)
Cream pitcher: 3 7/8 in. h (9.9 cm), 9.48 oz. (269 grams)
Sugar bowl: 3 1⁄2 in. h (8.9 cm), 13.27 oz. (376 grams)
Tea Service Weight: 49.27 oz. (1,397 grams)
According to the hallmark “O.M. Bhuj,” this unusual and exquisitely designed tea service was designed by Oomersi Mawji the elder. On the top of the teapot’s hinged lid is a coiled cobra, forming the lid’s finial, and the teapot handle has ivory insulators. Each piece has a cube form, and each of the four sides of the sugar and creamer bears a hunting scene against a background of foliate coriander and fluttering birds. These are the sort of beautifully rendered designs Mawji is known for.
What makes this service unique is two features: the extraordinary elegantly caparisoned elephant heads that make up the handles for all three pieces—the accuracy of the detail going so far as to depict the tusks trimmed in the manner of domesticated elephants—and the scenes on two of the four sides of the teapot: One is a horseman whose mount is being attacked by a tiger; the other, a caparisoned elephant who is, at the moment he captured in silver, seems to be getting the best of a tiger who has attacked him. Usually, Mawji’s animal scenes show either domesticated animals—or wild animals in combat with one another. It is unusual for him to portray a domesticated animal in combat with a wild animal, although such incidents must have occurred both during hunts and long, cross-county treks.
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Three-Piece Bachelor's Tea Service
Bhuj J.D. Bhuj, Kutch, India, ca. 1890
Bhuj J.D. Bhuj, Kutch, India, ca. 1890
Sterling Silver
Teapot: 4 3⁄4 in. h (12.1 cm); 17.05 oz. (483 grams)
Cream pitcher: 3 7⁄8 in. h (9.5 cm); 8.47 oz. (240 grams)
Sugar bowl: 4 1⁄4 in. diam. (10.8 cm), 11.71 oz. (332 grams)
Tea Service Weight: 37.23 oz. (1,056 grams)
Teapot: 4 3⁄4 in. h (12.1 cm); 17.05 oz. (483 grams)
Cream pitcher: 3 7⁄8 in. h (9.5 cm); 8.47 oz. (240 grams)
Sugar bowl: 4 1⁄4 in. diam. (10.8 cm), 11.71 oz. (332 grams)
Tea Service Weight: 37.23 oz. (1,056 grams)
Each piece in this service bears four framed floral bouquets, the center one with an unengraved cartouche. Looking from the top down, each piece is in quatrefoil shape. The handles are scrolled gracefully, and the finials hark back to an earlier, regency design. The form and design of the service bear no indication of its Bhuj origin, and it was obviously a commissioned set done in the British style.
The pieces are marked “Bhuj J.D.” Wilkinson mentions two Kutch silversmiths whose mark this might be: Jetha Dosa and Jaradi Davekur Kanji.
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A Silver Rectangular Box
Oomersi Mawji (O.M.), ca. 1860, Bhuj, Kutch, India
Oomersi Mawji (O.M.), ca. 1860, Bhuj, Kutch, India
Sterling Silver
Dimensions: 7 1/8 in. w x 4 7/8 in. d x 3 in. h (18 w x 12.5 d x 7.3 h cm)
Weight: 21.9 oz. (621 grams)
This exceptionally finely made silver box is decorated with répoussé and chased sylvan and hunting themes arranged in framed panels. The top panel depicts a riverbank, on which a pride of lions has been enraged by the actions of two men in a boat, making their escape. One of the men can be seen to be holding a lion cub, which he has just abducted, and the other man is poling the craft away from the shore. The scene is bordered by scrolling grapevines interrupted by birds.
The side, front, and back panels depict other animals—a monkey observing a pair of bears, a tapir-like animal and a water buffalo drinking from a pond, a boar being surrounded by hounds, and two gazelles making an escape while a stag is set upon by dogs—each of these panels bordered by floral tendrils.
The interior of the box has a gold wash, and the bottom bears the “O.M Bhuj” punch mark.
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Indian Colonial Silver Cigarette/Card Case
Oomersi Mawji (O.M.), ca. 1870, Bhuj, Kutch, India
Oomersi Mawji (O.M.), ca. 1870, Bhuj, Kutch, India
Sterling Silver
Dimensions: 3 3/4 in. x 3 1/8 in. x 3/4 in. (9.3 x 8x1.8 cm)
Weight: 5.4 oz. (170 gram)
This fine silver cigarette case has a plain rectangular form with rounded corners. The anterior cover’s is répoussé and chased design is of a jungle scene with two elephants, one bathing in a pool, one on the bank of the pool, the two surrounded by tropical greenery and palm trees. The elephant in the pool has one leg lifted ever so slightly, as if the animal is trying to determine the firmness of the sandy bottom. The animals are depicted realistically and naturally, as if in a painting made with masterful brushstrokes.
The posterior cover is ornamented with the interlacing foliate coriander design for which silver from Kutch is known, and it incorporates an uninscribed circular cartouche in its center.The hinged case is fitted with a push-fit catch that, when released, reveals two separate, hinged, sprung compartments, each with a fine pierced and foliate restraining clip. The piece bears the clear hallmark “O•M Bhuj,” struck on the cover’s interior.
The work on this piece represents some of the finest of the work for which Mawji is known, being not only a masterful depiction of the animals, but also a complete and naturalistic painterly scene.
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Card Case
Oomersi Mawji (O.M.), ca. 1880, Bhuj, Kutch, India
Oomersi Mawji (O.M.), ca. 1880, Bhuj, Kutch, India
Sterling Silver
Dimensions: 4 in. x 2 3/8 in. x 7/16 in., (10 x 6.2 x 1 cm)
Weight: 3.2 oz. (90.7 grams)
A small piece, yet one that has one of the master silversmith’s particularly fine elephants, outfitted in decorated caparison, as it would have been for a durbar. There were grand durbars in Delhi in 1903 and 1911—the latter of which, the only one attended by a reigning monarch, George V, was called, at the time, “the greatest spectacle the word has ever seen” and referred to later as “the last hurrah of the raj.” (A durbar was a highly choreographed official court parade, complete with elaborately uniformed soldiers marching and camels and elephants bedecked in jeweled bridles and blankets.)
One side of this card case is ornamented by the elephant, against a foliate background, while the other side bears a cartouche engraved “M.H.” Referencing either one of the durbars would have made this piece a fashionable accessory in which a gentleman of the raj could carry his calling cards. Marked, under the hinged lid, “O.M.”
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A Pair of Kutch Condiment Pots on Stand
Oomersi Mawji (O.M.), ca. 1870, Bhuj, Kutch, India
Oomersi Mawji (O.M.), ca. 1870, Bhuj, Kutch, India
Sterling Silver
Dimensions: 7 1/4 in. h (18.5 cm), 3 1/4 in. diam., each dish (8 cm)
Total weight: 13.7 oz. (388 grams)
The stand for these two pots has a double-circular base and a handle of double-entwined cobras, the whole set on bun feet. The pots themselves bear the Kutch coriander-leaf design enhanced by two bands, one polished and one beaded. The interiors of the pots have been gilded, not as an element of design, but to guard against damage from the condiments, such as mustard, that would have reacted with the silver. These fine tableware pieces are the work of India’s master silversmith and are marked “O.M. Bhuj.”
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Teacup and Saucer
Oomersi Mawji (O.M.), ca. 1860, Bhuj, Kutch, India
Oomersi Mawji (O.M.), ca. 1860, Bhuj, Kutch, India
Sterling Silver
Dimensions: Saucer, 1 in. h x 5 3/8 in. diam. (2.54 x 13.65 cm)
Cup 2 5/8 in. h x 4 in. l x 3 ¼ in. diam. (6.7 cm tall x 10.16 long x 8.25 diam)
Set Weight: 9 oz. (255 grams)
Here is another piece that can only lead one to try to imagine its romantic history. The two pieces are a matched teacup and saucer, by the renowned Kutch silversmith Oomersi Mawji, and bearing his stylized coriander-leaves-and-flowers motif. Each piece is inscribed “E.B. Lover,” the cup on its side, emblazoned on a ribbon; the saucer around its center, where the cup would rest.
But Oomersi Mawji, who certainly made many teapots, knew well that a hot liquid in a silver cup would render the cup handle impossible to be held in one’s fingers. It appears then that the teacup and saucer was perhaps never intended for holding tea, but that the form was rather only fanciful, perhaps meant to hold a small bouquet of flowers on a breakfast tray, or to convey some particular allusion. And what of the inscription, “E. B. Lover”? Is it simply the name of someone it was presented to as a gift? Or does “lover “ signify something else altogether? Time has its secrets. Another teacup and saucer by Oomersi is the British Museum.
Set Weight: 9 oz. (255 grams)
Here is another piece that can only lead one to try to imagine its romantic history. The two pieces are a matched teacup and saucer, by the renowned Kutch silversmith Oomersi Mawji, and bearing his stylized coriander-leaves-and-flowers motif. Each piece is inscribed “E.B. Lover,” the cup on its side, emblazoned on a ribbon; the saucer around its center, where the cup would rest.
But Oomersi Mawji, who certainly made many teapots, knew well that a hot liquid in a silver cup would render the cup handle impossible to be held in one’s fingers. It appears then that the teacup and saucer was perhaps never intended for holding tea, but that the form was rather only fanciful, perhaps meant to hold a small bouquet of flowers on a breakfast tray, or to convey some particular allusion. And what of the inscription, “E. B. Lover”? Is it simply the name of someone it was presented to as a gift? Or does “lover “ signify something else altogether? Time has its secrets. Another teacup and saucer by Oomersi is the British Museum.
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Perfume Flacon
Bhuj, Kutch, India, ca 1880
Bhuj, Kutch, India, ca 1880
Sterling Silver
Dimensions: 5 7/8 inches high (14.7cm), 1 3/8 inches wide (3.5cm)
Weight: 2.7 oz. (76g)
Kutch chased silver perfume flacon, or scent bottle, conical, with screw top, and unengraved cartouche.
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An Unusually Large Presentation Chased Silver Document Holder
Kutch, Bhuj, India, or Ratnapura, Sri Lanka, ca. 1880–1926
(The presentation inscription is 1926, but the piece is likely earlier)
Sterling Silver
Dimensions: 20 1/2 in. (52cm) long
Weight: 31.8 oz. (884 grams)
Silver scroll holders were used in both Burma and India, for the presentation of documents and as presentation cases for departing Colonial administrators. This particular one is unusually large, relative to known others.
In typical cylindrical form, the piece bears densely foliate chased decoration inhabited by parakeets, peacocks, and other exotic birds. The central cartouche is engraved: “George Brown Esqr from Sabaragamuwa Planters Association, April 1926.”
Kutch, Bhuj, India, or Ratnapura, Sri Lanka, ca. 1880–1926
(The presentation inscription is 1926, but the piece is likely earlier)
Sterling Silver
Dimensions: 20 1/2 in. (52cm) long
Weight: 31.8 oz. (884 grams)
Silver scroll holders were used in both Burma and India, for the presentation of documents and as presentation cases for departing Colonial administrators. This particular one is unusually large, relative to known others.
In typical cylindrical form, the piece bears densely foliate chased decoration inhabited by parakeets, peacocks, and other exotic birds. The central cartouche is engraved: “George Brown Esqr from Sabaragamuwa Planters Association, April 1926.”
* * *
One of the rounded end caps opens to reveal a compartment in which is an illuminated certificate bearing the name “George Brown,” in recognition of his “long and valuable services” to the Sabaragamuwa Planters Association. (George Brown was chairman of the Planters Association of Ceylon. He contributed to the introduction of S.E.N. Nicholas’s Planter’s Handbook: Labour in Ceylon, Colombo, 1926. His words were reported briefly in the “Social and Personal” column of the Straits Times, 21 October 1926, p. 8.)
Since the document holder was presented in Ratnapura, Sri Lanka, the assumption must be made that that is where it was made, but, if that is indeed the case, the local silversmith was at least heavily influenced by the style of Kutch, Bhuj, because the style of the chased decoration looks typically Kutch.
The piece is mounted on a slightly later stand, of ebony, with a carved lotus border.
Since the document holder was presented in Ratnapura, Sri Lanka, the assumption must be made that that is where it was made, but, if that is indeed the case, the local silversmith was at least heavily influenced by the style of Kutch, Bhuj, because the style of the chased decoration looks typically Kutch.
The piece is mounted on a slightly later stand, of ebony, with a carved lotus border.
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Chalice
Bhuj, Kutch, India, ca, 1880
Bhuj, Kutch, India, ca, 1880
Sterling Silver
Dimensions: 7 ½ in. x 3 ½ in. (19.2 cm x 9 cm)
Weight: 11.14 oz. (361 grams)
This silver chalice quite likely had ecclesiastical origins. It is lavishly ornamented with the traditional Kutch coriander pattern, but the fronds growing up from the stem are designed and executed particularly well in a variant of the Kutch style not so frequently seen. The stem itself has a pattern of overlapping shells or fish scales. Unmarked.
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Picture Frame
Oomersi Mawji (O.M.), ca. 1890, Bhuj, Kutch, India
Oomersi Mawji (O.M.), ca. 1890, Bhuj, Kutch, India
Sterling Silver
Dimensions: 8 ½ in. x 10 ½ in. (21.6 cm x 26.7 cm), 1 ¼ in. border (3.2 cm)
Here is an unusual piece from Oomersi Mawji. Mawji is known for his silver tableware, tea services, and trays—but not for his picture frames. This fine example of the master’s work is a charming, large, easel-backed frame festooned with a symmetrically arranged, pierced design of coriander leaves and flowers. Centered on its bottom border is a convex, oval-shaped cartouche, suitable for engraving.Marked “O.M. BHUJ” on its back.
Here is an unusual piece from Oomersi Mawji. Mawji is known for his silver tableware, tea services, and trays—but not for his picture frames. This fine example of the master’s work is a charming, large, easel-backed frame festooned with a symmetrically arranged, pierced design of coriander leaves and flowers. Centered on its bottom border is a convex, oval-shaped cartouche, suitable for engraving.Marked “O.M. BHUJ” on its back.
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Three-Piece Tea Service
Bhuj, Kutch, India, ca. 1890
Sterling Silver
Teapot: 6 1/4 in. h (15.5 cm)
Cream pitcher: 4 1/4 in. h ( 10.8 cm)
Sugar bowl: 4 3/4 in. diam. (12 cm)
Tea Service Weight: 34.43 oz. (1,071 grams)
This is a very special and unusual tea service. The form of each piece is a footed sphere, and the quality of work is equal to that of the Bhuj master silversmith Oomersi Mawji. The pieces have an allover foliate design, with every flower and leaf done as exquisitely as it would be if it were the centerpiece, instead of supporting design, for the finely conceived and unusual animal scenes, rarely seen in a tea service.
Cream pitcher: 4 1/4 in. h ( 10.8 cm)
Sugar bowl: 4 3/4 in. diam. (12 cm)
Tea Service Weight: 34.43 oz. (1,071 grams)
This is a very special and unusual tea service. The form of each piece is a footed sphere, and the quality of work is equal to that of the Bhuj master silversmith Oomersi Mawji. The pieces have an allover foliate design, with every flower and leaf done as exquisitely as it would be if it were the centerpiece, instead of supporting design, for the finely conceived and unusual animal scenes, rarely seen in a tea service.
On one side of the teapot (which retains its original ivory insulators), a leopard is shown, killing an eland, and, on the other, a Sikh on horseback is boar-hunting (or “pig-sticking,” as the sport was sometimes called). On one side of the sugar bowl, a lion is carrying an eland in its teeth, and, on the other, a lioness is killing a large, plumed bird. On one side of the creamer is a wolf, and, on the other, a leopard. All three pieces are fitted with hinged lids with elephant finials, and all the pieces are further embellished with coriander-leaf designs on the feet and bottom borders. The service is rendered in .925 silver and is absolutely museum quality.
Some silver from Kutch is marked is marked “Bhuj,” for one city in Kutch, but many workshops were in other parts of Kutch as well. The most renowned of all Kutch silversmiths, indeed of all Indian silversmiths, is Oomersi Mawji, whom some consider to have been the finest silversmith in the world. The sons of Oomersi Mawji, after their father’s death, continued in his tradition.
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George V Kutch Tea Service
Kutch, India, ca. 1890
Kutch, India, ca. 1890
Sterling Silver
Teapot: 12 in. handle to spout (30.4 CM) and 6 in. tall (15.2 cm), weighing 26 oz. (737 grams).
Creamer: 6 in. handle to spout (15.2 cm) and weighing 8 1/2 oz. (241 grams)
Sugar bowl: 8 in. handle to handle (20.3 cm) and weighing 13 oz. (368 grams)
Three-piece service weighs 47 1/2 oz. (1,346 grams)
This tea service is an interesting marriage of styles, the form being pure English (George V), and the répoussé and chasing of the silver work completely Indian (Kutch). The George V style is exemplified by the forms of the pieces, the fluting on the bases and the teapot lid, and the finial of the teapot. The pot has ivory insulators, typical Kutch coriander-leaf design, and bears a blank shield on its front.
It is interesting to observe that the sugar and creamer, although they are of exactly the same pattern and form as the teapot and were obviously created as a set, are of a proportion not usually seen in tea services. (The sugar bowl, for example, would hold a volume of sugar equal to half the volume of the teapot.) Since, Indian-style tea, chai, is made with milk and sugar added in the kitchen, not served at the table, it is possible that the appropriate relative proportions of sugar and creamer and teapot might have been a mystery to the silversmith who actually created this quite grand-looking service.
* * *
An Oomersi Mawji Silver Hand Mirror
Oomersi Mawji (O.M), ca. 1880, Bhuj, Kutch, India
Oomersi Mawji (O.M), ca. 1880, Bhuj, Kutch, India
Sterling Silver
Dimensions: 10 7/8 in. long (27.7 cm)
Weight: 13.83 oz. (392 grams)
This exceptionally fine piece, a hand mirror, is signed “OM,” at the bottom of the oval back portion, for Oomersi Mawji. He is considered by some to have been the finest silversmith in the world. Oomersi Mawji was the court silversmith to the ruler of Kutch, Maharao Shri Mirza Raja Sawai Khengarji Bahadurno. The oval mirror portion, its back profusely worked in répoussé and chasing, depicts two elephants fighting, and, below them, a deer brought down by hounds, all amid scrolling vines and flowers. The handle portion is further decorated with another animal and more scrolling vines.
* * *
Kalash
Oomersi Mawji (O.M.), ca. 1890, Bhuj, Kutch, India
Oomersi Mawji (O.M.), ca. 1890, Bhuj, Kutch, India
Sterling Silver
Dimensions: 4 1/2 in. h (11.43 cm)
Weight: 10 troy oz. (283 gram)
The kalash is a vessel traditionally used in Hindu worship, or puja, to hold water, milk, or ghee, for pouring over a deity. Thiskalash is decorated in the traditional Kutch coriander motif, but superimposed on that pattern are the animal depictions that are the mark of the master silversmith Oomersi Mawji. Mawji, alone among all other Indian smiths, was able to breathe life into his animals, as he showed the anguish of a mortal attack, the adrenaline rush of a hunt, or the scampering of a deer. The kalash is an example of Oomersi at his best.
Weight: 10 troy oz. (283 gram)
The kalash is a vessel traditionally used in Hindu worship, or puja, to hold water, milk, or ghee, for pouring over a deity. Thiskalash is decorated in the traditional Kutch coriander motif, but superimposed on that pattern are the animal depictions that are the mark of the master silversmith Oomersi Mawji. Mawji, alone among all other Indian smiths, was able to breathe life into his animals, as he showed the anguish of a mortal attack, the adrenaline rush of a hunt, or the scampering of a deer. The kalash is an example of Oomersi at his best.
* * *
A Footed Mug
Oomersi Mawji (O.M.), ca. 1870, Bhuj, Kutch, India
Oomersi Mawji (O.M.), ca. 1870, Bhuj, Kutch, India
Sterling Silver
Dimensions: 3 13/16 in. h (9.7 cm)
Weight: 6.3 oz. (178.8 grams)
This exceptionally fine piece, a footed mug, is stamped on the bottom “OM•Bhuj,” for Oomersi Mawji. Mawji was the court silversmith to the ruler of Kutch, Maharao Shri Mirza Raja Sawai Khengarji Bahadurno. The piece is profusely répoussé and chased with the typical Kutch foliate coriander pattern, but is further ornamented with a wolf killing a sheep, a tiger attacking an oryx, and a lion. The handle portion is further decorated with flowers and leaves, and the piece is supported on three bun feet.
* * *
Triangular Bowl
Oomersi Mawji, ca.1890, Kutch, Bhuj, India
Oomersi Mawji, ca.1890, Kutch, Bhuj, India
Sterling Silver
Dimensions: 2 ½ in. h (6.3 cm)
Weight: 5.63 oz. (159.7 grams)
A small bowl, of rounded triangular form, executed and signed by the great Oomersi Mawji. The intelligence of the artist’s design is always apparent in his pieces, and so it is in this one. The theme here is grapes, grapevines, and birds, and Mawji has deliberately forsaken the traditional coriander leaf in order to be true to the vineyard motif. Mawji would not have known of grapes or vineyards had he not, after having achieved some celebrity, traveled not only to other parts of India, but to Europe as well.
* * *
Bowl with Scallop-Shaped Rim
Oomersi Mawji, ca.1890, Kutch, Bhuj, India
Sterling Silver
Oomersi Mawji, ca.1890, Kutch, Bhuj, India
Sterling Silver
Dimensions: 4 in. diam., 2 5/8 in. h (10.1 x 6.7 cm)
Weight: 4.87 oz. (138.1 grams)
Small signed Kutch bowl, worked in répoussé and chased, with the traditional Kutch coriander leaf and the beautifully designed and crafted animals (elephants shown here) that the piece’s creator, Oomersi Mawji, is known for.
* * *
Unsigned Milk Jug
Kutch, India, ca. 1890
Sterling Silver
Kutch, India, ca. 1890
Sterling Silver
Dimensions: 5 in. spout to handle, 3 ½ in. h (12.7 x 8.9 cm)
Weight: 3.96 oz. (112.2 grams)
A milk jug that, though unsigned, can be shown proudly next to the best signed pieces. It is finely worked in répoussé, and chased, but its graceful organic shape is the true display of the smith’s art.
* * *
Signed Milk Jug
Kutch, India, ca. 1890
Sterling Silver
Kutch, India, ca. 1890
Sterling Silver
Dimensions: 3 1/2 in. h (8.9 cm)
Weight: 3.35 oz. (95 grams)
This signed milk jug from Kutch with the traditional coriander leaf and the beautifully designed. It is finely worked in répoussé, but its graceful organic shape of the spout is the true display of the smith’s art. The bottom of the milk jug is marked “SP.”
* * *
Cobra Handle Milk Jug
Kutch, India, ca. 1890
Sterling Silver
Kutch, India, ca. 1890
Sterling Silver
Dimensions: 3 5/8 in. h (9.2 cm)
Weight: 4.86 oz. (137.9 grams)
Whimsical milk jug worked in traditional Kutch coriander motif, but with cobra handle.
* * *
Teapot
Kutch, India, ca. 1890
Sterling Silver
Kutch, India, ca. 1890
Sterling Silver
Dimensions: 6 ¾ in. spout to handle, 5 ¼ in. tall (17.1 x 13.3 cm)
Weight: 17.89 oz. (507.2 grams)
Small, “achelor’s” teapot in nicely done traditional Kutch coriander motif, with bird’s mouth spout and flower finial.
* * *
Pepper Pots in barrel form
Oomersi Mawji, ca. 1897, Bhuj, Kutch, India
Sterling Silver
Oomersi Mawji, ca. 1897, Bhuj, Kutch, India
Sterling Silver
Dimensions: 1 5/8 in., diam., 2 1/2 in. h (5.2 cm)
Weight: 3.25 oz. (51.6 grams) each
A lovely pair of Victorian sterling-silver pepper pots, or pepperettes, with push-fit lids, made in India, in about 1897, by the illustrious Kutch silversmith Oomersi Mawji (Oomersee Mawjee). The pair are in barrel design with the traditional Kutch design of deep, tightly scrolled floral motifs. They are marked “O.M Bhuj” on the undersides. There is a very similar piece shown in Wilkinson’s Indian Silver, 1858-1947, p. 101.
* * *
Oomersi Mawji Drawing for a Silver Tray
Bhuj, Kutch, India, ca. 1890
Pencil drawing on Howard & Jones London watermarked paper
OM ink signature on reverse
Bhuj, Kutch, India, ca. 1890
Pencil drawing on Howard & Jones London watermarked paper
OM ink signature on reverse
Dimension: 9 in. x 13 ¼ in. (22.9 x 33. 7 cm)
From humble beginnings, born into the cobblers’ caste in Bhuj, in the Kutch region of Gujarat, Oomersi Mawji became the most celebrated Indian silversmith of the Raj period and the court silversmith to the Maharajah of Kutch. Today, many scholars consider him the greatest silversmith of the nineteenth century.
Mawji’s trademark designs were intricate, densely scrolling vines and animal motifs. He produced not only magnificent répoussé and chased silver objects, but also objects of silver and gold that incorporated exotic materials such as mother-of-pearl, ebony, ivory, boars’ teeth, and tigers’ claws.
Examples from Oomersi Mawji’s workshop are included in such collections as the Victoria & Albert and the British museums in London, the Musée Guimet in Paris, and Harvard’s Arthur M. Sackler Museum.
* * *
British Colonial Silver Tray
Oomersi Mawji, (O.M) ca. 1890, Bhuj, Kutch, India
Oomersi Mawji, (O.M) ca. 1890, Bhuj, Kutch, India
Dimensions: 12 1/4 in. x 9 1/4 in. (31.11 x 23.5 cm)
Weight: 15.88 oz. (450.19 grams)
This British Colonial silver tray is the work of the renowned Oomersi Mawji, court silversmith to the ruler of Kutch, ca. 1890. The oval tray has a pierced rim elaborately decorated in a foliate motif, and rises on four feet, with the maker’s mark underneath, “O.M Bhuj.”
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OM Bhuj, Salver
Oomersi Mawji, ca. 1890, Bhuj, Kutch, India
Oomersi Mawji, ca. 1890, Bhuj, Kutch, India
Dimensions: 8 in. (20.3 cm)
Weight: 9.2 oz. (260 grams)
Salvers were small plates, usually of silver, that were much in use in the nineteenth century, when they were used by servants to present something, such as a visitor’s calling card or a glass of cognac, to the master or mistress of the house. Interestingly, the word comes down to us from the custom, from an even earlier time, when a servant in a royal or noble house was responsible for tasting any food or drink before offering it to his master, as a precaution against the royal’s being poisoned by someone plotting against him. Indeed, the Latin root of the word “salver” is salvare, meaning “to save” (as in the word “salvation”).
The piece is such a silver salver—this one, once again, from silversmith Oomersi Mawji. The diameter of the salver is 8 inches, and the center medallion is circled by three pairs of predators attacking their prey, a favorite O.M subject, and a pierced border is outlined by another foliate border. The piece is marked O.M BHUJ, which would date it to about 1890. Provenance: Maria Luisa Loomis, CA.
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Jungle Hunt Scene Serving Tray
Kutch, India, ca. 1890
Sterling Silver
Kutch, India, ca. 1890
Sterling Silver
Dimensions: 12 1/2 in. diam. (31.75 cm)
Weight: 18 oz. (510.29 grams)
This is a handcrafted silver serving tray of Indian origin, which is ornamented with a beautifully and meticulously designed jungle-hunt scene, of a lion in pursuit of gazelles and deer through lush and dense foliage. The majestic predator’s eyes are ablaze, and his mouth is open, as if roaring with the excitement of the hunt. Several other small animals, including a tiny hare, appear in the foliage, and the entire scene is worked against a rich satin background. The work is characteristic of Kutch silver of the 19th century. The center, with raised medallion, bears the monogram “WB,” which is expertly drawn and framed within a scrolling acanthus and twisted-rope border.
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Melon-Shaped, Four-Piece Tea Service
Son of Oomersi Mawji (O.M.), ca. 1920, Baroda, Gujarat, India
Sterling Silver
Son of Oomersi Mawji (O.M.), ca. 1920, Baroda, Gujarat, India
Sterling Silver
Tea Pot 5.5 in. or 14 cm diameter,
Total weight: 1937 grams or approx. 62.2 oz.
A highly polished four-piece tea service of melon form, with paneled spouts, ivory insulators, and acanthus-capped handles, signed “O.M•BARODA” at the bottom of each piece. The inclusion of “Baroda” with the “O.M” indicates that the piece was made by a son of Oomersi Mawji. That the surface of this exceptionally fine tea service is unadorned is unusual for the work of the father or any of the sons, since they were all known for the intricately worked surfaces of their work. The younger Mawji was court silversmith to the Maharajah Sayajirao Gaekwad III of Baroda, and it is for the maharajah that this tea service was presumably created.
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Candlesticks
Kutch, India, ca. 1880
Sterling Silver
Kutch, India, ca. 1880
Sterling Silver
Dimensions: 4 3/4 in. diam. at base (12.06 cm), 10 1/2 in. h (26.7 cm)
Weight: 20.5 oz. (586 grams)
This is a beautiful pair of silver répoussé and chased candlesticks. The pattern of hand-worked flowers and intricate vines against a finely stippled background is typically Kutch. A glass hurricane or cylinder shade would have fit into the top channel, to shield the candle from drafts.
The set came from the estate of the family of Mary Hemenway, the daughter of the successful New York City merchant Thomas Tileston, and wife of the prominent Boston merchant Augustus Hemenway. Both men were involved in trade with the West Indies and the Far East. This set was most likely brought back on one of their merchant ships, sometime in the mid to late 1800s.
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Kutch Pierced Silver Bowl
Kutch, India, ca. 1880
Sterling Silver
Dimensions: 5 3/8 inches (16.3 cm)
Weight: 13.7 oz. (388 grams)
Kutch, India, ca. 1880
Sterling Silver
Dimensions: 5 3/8 inches (16.3 cm)
Weight: 13.7 oz. (388 grams)
This bowl is in the traditional Kutch coriander-leaf pattern, with a lion, a hare, and a hound appearing amidst the swirling, foliate coriander. The work is fairly sophisticated, even if not quite up to the level of the work of Oomersi Mawji. What is unusual—and very decorative—is the pattern’s pierced openwork, which is very finely executed.
Around the rim of the underside is the inscription “To Miss Torre, with M. Bonaji’s Best Wishes for a Happy New Year 1901,” and, in the center are the finely engraved intertwined initials “RCT.”
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Silver Scalloped-Edge Bowl
Kutch, India, ca. 1895
Sterling Silver
Kutch, India, ca. 1895
Sterling Silver
Dimensions: Bowl 7 1/2 in. diam., 6 1/4 in. h, (19 cm diameter, 15.8 cm high)
Weight: 27.9 oz. (790 grams)
Scalloped-edge bowl on attached pedestal, the bowl’s exterior is inrépoussé and chased decoration, with finely executed peacocks, birds, and scrolling vines, the vine motif (typically Kutch) repeated on the pedestal.
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Swirling Floral Bowl
Kutch, India, ca. 1890
Sterling Silver
Kutch, India, ca. 1890
Sterling Silver
Dimensions: Bowl 4 1/2 in. diam., 2 1/4 in. h, (11.43 cm diameter, 6.35 cm high)
Weight: 6 oz. (170.09 grams)
This is a beautifully designed and meticulously hand-wrought ca.-1890 Indian sterling-silver floral- and swirling-vine-decorated bowl and has a lustrous sterling patina. Bowl is lavishly ornamented with swirling foliate decoration and retains its original crisp, vibrant, hand-chased detail.
This superb Kutch bowl, in classic circular form, brilliantly uses therépoussé technique, to “push out” and create a raised floral and swirling vine decoration from the back, and then refining it with chasing on the visible side. The designs are worked against a stippled background, which, as the silver oxidizes naturally, allows them to contrast their patina against the darker-colored background, accentuating the floral work perfectly. The piece has a series of elegant scrolling acanthus and streaming bead decorative borders, and has never been monogrammed.
