BY TOOLSEE RAM, DATED 1836

Details

AN INDIAN IVORY CARVING OF HIS HIGHNESS OF BENGAL ATOP AN ELEPHANT**
BY TOOLSEE RAM, DATED 1836
Depicting his Highness seated in a howdah on an elephant with a parasol bearer and rider, the base engraved Toolsee Ram 1836 Maker to one side, the front engraved HIS HIGHNESS of BENGAL, the other long side with an engraved plaque inscribed The gift of Queen Adelaide/to Louisa Wheatley/August 30, 1836
6½ in. (16.5 cm.) high, 5¾ in. (14.5 cm.) wide, 3 in. (7.5 cm.) deep

Provenance

Queen Adelaide, wife of King William IV. Gifted to Louisa Wheatley, Lady-in-Waiting on 30 August 1836. (according to the engraved plaque). By descent to the current owner.

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.

Lot Essay

Louisa Wheatley is thought to have been a lady-in-waiting to Queen Adelaide, the wife of William IV. Her husband Henry, was the Keeper of the Privy Purse to both William IV and to Queen Victoria.

His Highness of Bengal, Humayun Jah, ascended the Throne of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa after the death of his father, Wala Jah, in 1824. The present Palace of Hazarduari was erected during his reign. A miniature of the palace executed in ivory, prepared by Sagore Mistri, together with portraits of His Highness and his son and other presents were sent to King William IV, who honored the Nawab with the present full size portrait of His Majesty and conferred upon him the badge and insignia of the Royal Guelphic and Hanoverian order, still preserved in the Palace. It is therefore possible that the current ivory was one of these gifts sent to William IV and then passed by the Queen to Louisa Wheatley.

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