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Lot Essay
From the 17th century visitors to the courts of the Indian rulers were left astounded and impressed by the material splendour they experienced. The lavishness of the interiors that greeted them, enhanced with all manner of jewelled and enamelled utensils, is recorded time and again. Sir Thomas Roe, ambassador to the Mughal Emperor Jahangir in 1615-18, described the Mughal court as ‘the treasury of the world’ (S. Stronge, N. Smith, and J.C. Harle, A Golden Treasury: Jewellery from the Indian Subcontinent, London, 1989, p.27). This was not just the case in Mughal domains but throughout the Subcontinent. Until the discovery of diamonds in Africa and South America in the 18th century nearly all diamonds came from the Deccan, with the mines at Golconda particularly famed. Although the rulers of the Deccani Kingdoms tended not to adorn themselves as much with gemstones as the Mughal emperors, the Qutb Shahs of Goldonda and later Nizams of Hyderabad enjoyed a vast wealth of gemstones from which to create extraordinary jewelled objects (N.N. Haidar, “Diamonds in the Deccan”, Sultans of Deccan India, New York, 2015, pp.325-326).
A pandan was intended for holding betel nut and preparing pan. Smaller boxes for additional spices made the object part of an elaborate ritual performed at courtly durbars (A. Jaffer and A.T. Okada (eds.) From the Great Mughals to the Maharajas: Jewels from the Al Thani Collection, exhibition catalogue, Grand Palais, Paris, 2017, pp.194-195). The courtly role of these inherently practical objects demanded extravagant materials such as precious metals, gemstones, and enamel.
Enamelling appeared in Indian art in the 16th century, probably through Europeans arriving in Goa and transmitting the technique to the Mughal and Deccani courts. Mughal enamellers are recorded by Abu’l Fazl in his Ain-i Akbari and Sir Thomas Roe later records the Portuguese selling enamelled wares to the Mughal court in 1617. Objects of this period display the ‘classic Mughal palette’ of red and green forming quatrefoil florets and leaves against an opaque white ground (M. Spink, “Objects in Gold and Enamel”, in Jaffer and Okada, From the Great Mughals to the Maharajas, p.169.). As well as the main imperial Mughal cities Jaipur became an important centre of enamelling, recognised for brilliant bright reds.
There is little enamelling found from the Deccan from the 17th century but by the 18th century Hyderabad had become an important area of production following its conquest by the Mughals. As such, it is unsurprising that the Hyderabadi palette remains very similar to the Mughal palette often making it difficult to confidently attribute enamels to either North India or the Deccan (Simon Ray, Exhibition Catalogue, 2019, p.85). However, Deccani work tends to favour more geometric use of vegetal forms and employ translucent greens on a gold ground (Spink, p.164). A similar object, an octagonal green enamelled and gem-set tray, in the Khalili Collection (JLY 1720) has been catalogued as Mughal India circa 1700. The form and decoration, especially the acanthus leaf borders and the champlevé technique in the interior of the associated boxes, only serves to highlight the closeness between these centres of production and often provenance plays a crucial role in determining attribution.
During the reign of Nizam Asaf Jah III (r.1803-1829) the State of Hyderabad experienced major financial and political difficulties as the Nizam struggled to control his domains. Under the recommendation of the Sikh Prime Minister Maharaja Chandu Lal the Nizam appealed to Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Lahore for assistance. An embassy was sent to the Durbar in Lahore and Ranjit Singh was presented with horses, a beautiful canopy, a sword and a number of other precious gifts (S. Kohli, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Lahore, 1933, p.267). The Maharaja was so taken by these items that he sent a detachment of soldiers to Hyderabad in order to help stabilise the state on the condition a Gurdwara was built. The Sikh detachment arrived in Hyderabad in 1832 and the area of the city in which they were stationed remains called the Sikh Chawani. The present pandan was reputedly one of the fine gifts sent by the Nizam and presented to Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Lahore.
A fine diamond-set and green enamelled gold covered bowl and stand formerly of the collection of Dr. Mohamed Said Farsi was sold in these Rooms, 05 October 2010, lot 45. Another diamond-set suite of pan boxes was sold in Maharajas and Mughal Magnificence, Christie’s New York, 19 June 2019, lot 240 with a smaller pan box lot 241. Both these lots employed a similar green enamelled ground to the present lot. All three of the aforementioned were originally sold in a 1985 auction at Habsburg Feldman in Geneva where the vendor was widely understood to be the Nizam of Hyderabad, firmly linking the green ground group of objects with Hyderabad.
A pandan was intended for holding betel nut and preparing pan. Smaller boxes for additional spices made the object part of an elaborate ritual performed at courtly durbars (A. Jaffer and A.T. Okada (eds.) From the Great Mughals to the Maharajas: Jewels from the Al Thani Collection, exhibition catalogue, Grand Palais, Paris, 2017, pp.194-195). The courtly role of these inherently practical objects demanded extravagant materials such as precious metals, gemstones, and enamel.
Enamelling appeared in Indian art in the 16th century, probably through Europeans arriving in Goa and transmitting the technique to the Mughal and Deccani courts. Mughal enamellers are recorded by Abu’l Fazl in his Ain-i Akbari and Sir Thomas Roe later records the Portuguese selling enamelled wares to the Mughal court in 1617. Objects of this period display the ‘classic Mughal palette’ of red and green forming quatrefoil florets and leaves against an opaque white ground (M. Spink, “Objects in Gold and Enamel”, in Jaffer and Okada, From the Great Mughals to the Maharajas, p.169.). As well as the main imperial Mughal cities Jaipur became an important centre of enamelling, recognised for brilliant bright reds.
There is little enamelling found from the Deccan from the 17th century but by the 18th century Hyderabad had become an important area of production following its conquest by the Mughals. As such, it is unsurprising that the Hyderabadi palette remains very similar to the Mughal palette often making it difficult to confidently attribute enamels to either North India or the Deccan (Simon Ray, Exhibition Catalogue, 2019, p.85). However, Deccani work tends to favour more geometric use of vegetal forms and employ translucent greens on a gold ground (Spink, p.164). A similar object, an octagonal green enamelled and gem-set tray, in the Khalili Collection (JLY 1720) has been catalogued as Mughal India circa 1700. The form and decoration, especially the acanthus leaf borders and the champlevé technique in the interior of the associated boxes, only serves to highlight the closeness between these centres of production and often provenance plays a crucial role in determining attribution.
During the reign of Nizam Asaf Jah III (r.1803-1829) the State of Hyderabad experienced major financial and political difficulties as the Nizam struggled to control his domains. Under the recommendation of the Sikh Prime Minister Maharaja Chandu Lal the Nizam appealed to Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Lahore for assistance. An embassy was sent to the Durbar in Lahore and Ranjit Singh was presented with horses, a beautiful canopy, a sword and a number of other precious gifts (S. Kohli, Maharaja Ranjit Singh, Lahore, 1933, p.267). The Maharaja was so taken by these items that he sent a detachment of soldiers to Hyderabad in order to help stabilise the state on the condition a Gurdwara was built. The Sikh detachment arrived in Hyderabad in 1832 and the area of the city in which they were stationed remains called the Sikh Chawani. The present pandan was reputedly one of the fine gifts sent by the Nizam and presented to Maharaja Ranjit Singh in Lahore.
A fine diamond-set and green enamelled gold covered bowl and stand formerly of the collection of Dr. Mohamed Said Farsi was sold in these Rooms, 05 October 2010, lot 45. Another diamond-set suite of pan boxes was sold in Maharajas and Mughal Magnificence, Christie’s New York, 19 June 2019, lot 240 with a smaller pan box lot 241. Both these lots employed a similar green enamelled ground to the present lot. All three of the aforementioned were originally sold in a 1985 auction at Habsburg Feldman in Geneva where the vendor was widely understood to be the Nizam of Hyderabad, firmly linking the green ground group of objects with Hyderabad.