A DECCANI REPOUSSÉ AND ENGRAVED BRONZE PEACOCK

CENTRAL INDIA, 16TH-17TH CENTURY

Details

A DECCANI REPOUSSÉ AND ENGRAVED BRONZE PEACOCK
CENTRAL INDIA, 16TH-17TH CENTURY
The bird with thin legs and spreading talons, the rounded body hinged in the middle with a pin on the side, the wings decorated in a swirling repoussé pattern, a large similarly decorated tail fanning out behind, a smaller secondary tail above, the slender tapering neck leading to naturalistically rendered head with inlaid eyes and a high expressive comb and beak, on an associated waisted cylindrical base with flaring rim and cusped edges perhaps originally a candlestick
26in. (66cm.) high

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Lot Essay

An incense burner in the British Museum, also in the form of a peacock, has similar engraved cusped feathers and a body which is hinged at the middle. That is attributed by Mark Zebrowski to 16th century Deccan, (Mark Zebrowski, Gold, Silver and Bronze from Mughal India, London, 1997, pl.103 and pl.525). Our peacock is interesting for its use of repoussé decorative scrolls for the wings and tail feathers which are possibly a later decorative feature that replaced the openwork found on earlier examples.

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