RAJASTHAN, NORTHERN INDIA, 19TH CENTURY

Details

A BIKANER PARCEL GILT SILVER CHARIOT AND HORSES
Rajasthan, Northern India, 19th century
The velvet lined chariot with two square wells, the cusped high backplate worked with elaborate silver repoussé mock heraldic design, the reverse of the same panel with a similar design in even higher repoussé, the remainder of the sides with cusped low walls with similar repoussé decoration, the base covered by a domed square canopy resting on four pillars, the canopy with similar repoussé silver floral designs above and below bold ribs rising to the central finial, resting on four wheels again silver coated and with steel rims, the front of the chariot with covered shaft reaching forward to the two silver horses each naturalistically rendered with one raised foreleg and extensively caparisoned, occasional minor old repairs
138 in. (350 cm.) long; 79 in. (200 cm.) wide

Provenance

The Maharaja of Bikaner, sold Lempertz, Cologne, 18 May 1973, lot 359

Literature

Mughal Silver Magnificence, exhibition catalogue, Brussels, 1987, p.74, pls.60 and 61.

Special notice

VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price plus buyer's premium.

Sale room notice

This lot should be starred in the catalogue for VAT. 5 will be charged to the buyer on the hammer and premium.

Lot Essay

Silver covered wooden furniture was known through India for at least 500 years (Jaffer, Amin: Furniture from British India and Ceylon, London, 2001, p.226). It appears however, as far as one can judge from surviving examples, that the art became particularly popular in the Rajput courts under East India Company and then British influence. As here, many of the forms of decoration are basically Indian, but British motifs manage to creep in, such as the scrolling wire supports of the front platform and posts, or in particular the imitation armorial on the reverse of the backrest with its two lion supporters. Of all the items made in this technique however, this must be one of the most spectacular of all.

This chariot was made for the Maharaja of Bikaner to carry two children dressed as Krishna and Radha, his favourite gopi. While it appears at first to be solely decorative, it is in reality fully functional; the wheels are even fitted with steel rims. Presumably when it went on an excursion the silver horses were unhitched and replaced by something more practical. Once the chariot returned, the silver horses could be reattached for display.

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