NORTH INDIA, 17TH CENTURY

Details

A CARVED INDIAN IVORY POWDER HORN
NORTH INDIA, 17TH CENTURY
Of bow shape, composed of two pieces of ivory carved with a dense design of hunting animals, with original brass stopper, each tapering end formed into shape of deer head with inlaid eyes
10½in. (26.7cm.) long

Special notice

Prospective purchasers are advised that several countries prohibit the importation of property containing materials from endangered species, including but not limited to coral, ivory and tortoiseshell. Accordingly, prospective purchasers should familiarize themselves with relevant customs regulations prior to bidding if they intend to import this lot into another country. VAT rate of 5% is payable on hammer price and at 20% on the buyer's premium.

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Lot Essay

A number of comparable pieces to this powder horn are known, some of which can be traced in European inventories to the seventeenth and early eighteenth century. A particularly elaborate example was in the collection of Prince Elector Johann Georg II of Saxony in 1658, while one in the Nasser D. Khalili Collection is very similar to ours (illustrated in D. Alexander The Arts of War, Oxford, 1992, pl. 115, p. 182). Examples have been sold in these Rooms, 28 April 1998, lot 154; 23 April 2002, lot 115 and 31 March 2009, lot 217. The present example is of particularly fine craftsmanship with the composite collage of animals covering the entire surface of the flask reflecting the very high quality of the miniatures from whence this design ultimately derives.

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