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拍品專文
During the reigns of the great Mughal emperors, the classical imperial Mughal style of jewellery which had roots in Iran developed and fused with indigenous traditions to produce a distinct style of jewellery and jewelled objects. A love for these glittering pieces was driven by demand from the courts, not just of the Mughals, but also of the Deccani sultans and smaller princedoms. What was an imperial style thus spread to the Muslim courts of the Deccan and Central India as well as the Hindu courts of Rajasthan and South India. Jewels were not just for panoply. They had an essential place in social rituals of the period. One obvious aspect in the Mughal court were the regular ceremonies where the emperor was weighed in precious metals and jewels for these then to be given out as part of a very public display of munificence. Paintings of the eighteenth century show equally ostentatious local courts.
The transmission of styles went both ways - from the Mughal courts to the smaller sultanates and princedoms and vice versa. When Shah Jahan conquered Hyderabad in the Deccan in the first half of the 17th century, he is reported to have received a tribute 'comprising 200 more caskets full of gems and jewelled ornaments.' (W.E.Begley and Z.A.Desai (ed.), The Shah Jahan Nama of 'Inayat Khan. An Abridged History of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, Compiled by his Royal Librarian. The Nineteenth-Century Manuscript Translation of A.R.Fuller (British Library, Add.30.777), Delhi, 1990, pp.404-05). By repute, all of the pieces of this group (lots 43-50) are said to come originally from the family of the Nizam of Hyderabad, therein suggesting a Deccani origin.
A Mughal jewelled falcon of somewhat similar style to the present parrot is in the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha (JE.69.2001, Leng Tan, Jewelled Treasures from the Mughal Courts, exhibition catalogue, Doha, 2002, pp.8-15, no.1). That is purported to have been part of the private jewels of Shah Jahan, and to be dated circa 1650. That relates to a group of objects, all dated to the early Mughal period, on account of the special forms into which the gemstones have been set. A related handle, terminating in a dragon's head is in the Al-Sabah Collection (Manuel Keene, Treasury of the World. Jewelled Arts of India in the Age of the Mughals, exhibition catalogue, London, 2001, p.125, no. 10.1). This style also features instances in which stones are purposely cut to form the edges of pieces, such as the crest or beak of either the Doha bird or the present example.
A gemset bird of paradise (huma) now in the Royal Collection demonstrates the spread of the from the imperial Mughal court (Jane Roberts (ed.), Royal Treasures. A Golden Jubilee Celebration, London, 2002, pp.332-36, no. 298). This bird originally sat atop Tipu Sultan's throne (circa 1787-93) and was preserved by Colonel Wellesley who was installed as Governor of Seringapatam after the British army stormed Tipu's citadel and took the city on 4 May 1799. Both this example and ours are technically close to the Mughal falcon. Each is set at intervals in the kundan technique with foiled diamonds, rubies and emeralds designed to look like feathers. That the huma can be said with certainty to be from Seringapatam supports the fact that there was production of 'Mughal style' jewelled pieces in central and southern India.
Our parrot combines the kundan with a champlevé enamelled tail similar to the breast of the Doha Mughal falcon. As discussed in the note to lot 49, the origins of the art of enamelling are unclear with various scholars heralding the imperial Mughal workshops, Goa and the Deccan as various centres for its begninnings. What is known is that by the 1620s recipes for various techniques, including enamelling had circulated in Mughal territory and other parts of the subcontinent. The Majmu'at al-sana'i (Collection of Recipes) was copied several times (the earliest is in the Bodleian and dates to AH 1033/1624 AD) and details the recipe for various enamels. This practice serves to explain why similar colours were produced in different regions, and therefore why identifying the specific location where certain pieces were made is sometimes difficult (Pedro Moura Carvalho, Gems and Jewels of Mughal India. The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, London, 2010, p. 20).
Birds in connection with Muslim rulers represent victory and power. In the context of a study of the tile cycle of the Hasht Behesht pavilion in Isfahan of 1670, Ingebord Luschey-Schmeisser interpreted winged beings both as an expression of rulership in search of the blessings of the angels and as winged beings who protect and serve their ruler (Ingebord Luschey-Schmeisser, The Pictoral Tile Cycle of Hast Behest in Isfahan and its Iconographic Tradition, Rome, 1978, pp. 47-55). Parrots and other birds often decorate the surfaces of enamelled objects, such as the underside of a pandan box in the Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC (inv. no. F.1986.22, Mark Zebrowski, Gold, Silver and Bronze from Mughal India, London, 1997, p.61, no.39). The sculptural form of the present parrot is however rare. With the associated symbolism, it is not surprising that the two other birds known are associated with Shah Jahan and Tipu Sultan. Our parrot adds another very impressive, example to the small extant group. For a general note on the group of enamelled and gemset objects please see lot 44. A discussion on the techniques used, can be found in the note to lot 49.
The transmission of styles went both ways - from the Mughal courts to the smaller sultanates and princedoms and vice versa. When Shah Jahan conquered Hyderabad in the Deccan in the first half of the 17th century, he is reported to have received a tribute 'comprising 200 more caskets full of gems and jewelled ornaments.' (W.E.Begley and Z.A.Desai (ed.), The Shah Jahan Nama of 'Inayat Khan. An Abridged History of the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, Compiled by his Royal Librarian. The Nineteenth-Century Manuscript Translation of A.R.Fuller (British Library, Add.30.777), Delhi, 1990, pp.404-05). By repute, all of the pieces of this group (lots 43-50) are said to come originally from the family of the Nizam of Hyderabad, therein suggesting a Deccani origin.
A Mughal jewelled falcon of somewhat similar style to the present parrot is in the Museum of Islamic Art, Doha (JE.69.2001, Leng Tan, Jewelled Treasures from the Mughal Courts, exhibition catalogue, Doha, 2002, pp.8-15, no.1). That is purported to have been part of the private jewels of Shah Jahan, and to be dated circa 1650. That relates to a group of objects, all dated to the early Mughal period, on account of the special forms into which the gemstones have been set. A related handle, terminating in a dragon's head is in the Al-Sabah Collection (Manuel Keene, Treasury of the World. Jewelled Arts of India in the Age of the Mughals, exhibition catalogue, London, 2001, p.125, no. 10.1). This style also features instances in which stones are purposely cut to form the edges of pieces, such as the crest or beak of either the Doha bird or the present example.
A gemset bird of paradise (huma) now in the Royal Collection demonstrates the spread of the from the imperial Mughal court (Jane Roberts (ed.), Royal Treasures. A Golden Jubilee Celebration, London, 2002, pp.332-36, no. 298). This bird originally sat atop Tipu Sultan's throne (circa 1787-93) and was preserved by Colonel Wellesley who was installed as Governor of Seringapatam after the British army stormed Tipu's citadel and took the city on 4 May 1799. Both this example and ours are technically close to the Mughal falcon. Each is set at intervals in the kundan technique with foiled diamonds, rubies and emeralds designed to look like feathers. That the huma can be said with certainty to be from Seringapatam supports the fact that there was production of 'Mughal style' jewelled pieces in central and southern India.
Our parrot combines the kundan with a champlevé enamelled tail similar to the breast of the Doha Mughal falcon. As discussed in the note to lot 49, the origins of the art of enamelling are unclear with various scholars heralding the imperial Mughal workshops, Goa and the Deccan as various centres for its begninnings. What is known is that by the 1620s recipes for various techniques, including enamelling had circulated in Mughal territory and other parts of the subcontinent. The Majmu'at al-sana'i (Collection of Recipes) was copied several times (the earliest is in the Bodleian and dates to AH 1033/1624 AD) and details the recipe for various enamels. This practice serves to explain why similar colours were produced in different regions, and therefore why identifying the specific location where certain pieces were made is sometimes difficult (Pedro Moura Carvalho, Gems and Jewels of Mughal India. The Nasser D. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art, London, 2010, p. 20).
Birds in connection with Muslim rulers represent victory and power. In the context of a study of the tile cycle of the Hasht Behesht pavilion in Isfahan of 1670, Ingebord Luschey-Schmeisser interpreted winged beings both as an expression of rulership in search of the blessings of the angels and as winged beings who protect and serve their ruler (Ingebord Luschey-Schmeisser, The Pictoral Tile Cycle of Hast Behest in Isfahan and its Iconographic Tradition, Rome, 1978, pp. 47-55). Parrots and other birds often decorate the surfaces of enamelled objects, such as the underside of a pandan box in the Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC (inv. no. F.1986.22, Mark Zebrowski, Gold, Silver and Bronze from Mughal India, London, 1997, p.61, no.39). The sculptural form of the present parrot is however rare. With the associated symbolism, it is not surprising that the two other birds known are associated with Shah Jahan and Tipu Sultan. Our parrot adds another very impressive, example to the small extant group. For a general note on the group of enamelled and gemset objects please see lot 44. A discussion on the techniques used, can be found in the note to lot 49.