INDIA, FIRST HALF 19TH CENTURY

Details

A CARVED RHINOCEROS HORN CAMPANA URN
INDIA, FIRST HALF 19TH CENTURY
Of exceptionally large size, the rounded body rising from splayed stepped foot tapering before a wide boss, the mouth everted, the lower body with a band of vertical stipes, the foot with four registers of carved decoration including a reciprocal palmette and leaf design at the base, the rim with repeated leaf design, the interior with thin cracks and slightly dry
9 5/8in. (24.5cm.) high

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis. Please note that the lots of Iranian origin are subject to U.S. trade restrictions which currently prohibit the import into the United States. Similar restrictions may apply in other countries.

Lot Essay

The area of the Bombay presidency was well known in the 19th and early 20th century for producing items fashioned of rhinoceros hide. A writing box in the Victoria and Albert museum of this material is carved with classical Hindu deities and was given to Queen Mary in 1911. More frequently it was used for the manufacture of shields. It is however extremely rare to find an object, particularly one of this size, fashioned in India from the horn. In form it is similar to items made in the first half of the nineteenth century in a number of exotic materials in Britain, notably blue john, porphyry and Wedgewood porcelain.

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