GOLCONDA, DECCAN, INDIA, CIRCA 1625-50

Grand processions were a frequent occurrence in 16th and 17th century Hyderabad, the Qutb Shahi capital of the Golconda Sultanate, as indicated by contemporary paintings and written accounts (Courtney Stewart in Haidar and Sardar, Sultans of Deccan India 1500-1700, Opulence and Fantasy, exhibition catalogue, New York, 2015, pp.246-248). Palanquins used to carry elite men and women in such processions were decorated with elaborate gilt-copper finials such as that offered here. These finials were generally of floral or, as with the present lot, decorated with animals. It has been suggested that floral finials, similar to a group now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (1995.258a,b), were used for woman's palanquins and those with ferocious animals were intended for men (Stewart, op.cit. p.248).