THE LARGEST MARKED O.M BHUJ [FOR OOMERSI MAWJI] KUTCH, INDIA, CIRCA 1870

Details

A FINE SILVER TEA SERVICE
THE LARGEST MARKED O.M BHUJ [FOR OOMERSI MAWJI] KUTCH, INDIA, CIRCA 1870
Each modelled as a black francolin entwined with a snake, the large hen as a tea pot and her two chicks as milk pot and sugar pot, the feathers finely engraved on the suface, two with hinged head, the tea pot with ivory insulators, marked 'O.M Bhuj' under the foot
Tea pot 8 1/5in. (21.5cm.) high

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.

Sale room notice

Please note this(/these) item(s) contains elephant ivory. The US has recently changed its rules on the import of elephant ivory. Please see the back of the catalogue for more information.

Lot Essay

Animals in motion, either fighting, hunting or in flight were favourite patterns for the Kutch silversmiths and especially to Oomersi Mawji, as can be seen in the recovered and published sketches from the Oomersi workshops now in a private collection (Vidya Dehejia, Delight in Design, Indian Silver for the Raj, New Delhi 2008, pp. 38-47). They would recur amidst the dense silver repousse scrolling foliage background which typifies Kutch. Our avian tea set seems to be part of a larger group where figures of birds were realistically rendered in various poses. They also appear to have been produced by Oomersee Mawjee Jr. in Baroda.
For another tea set shaped as quails, see Vidya Dehejia, op. cit., p.93, ill. 23.
Two similar sets in the shape of birds by Oomersi Mawji sold at Bonham's London, 24 April 2012, lot 220 and at Bonham's New York, 18 march 2013, lot 61.

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