TWENTY-EIGHT MICA PLATES OF INDIAN FIGURES IN THEIR ORIGINAL BOX

MURSHIDABAD, INDIA, LATE 18TH CENTURY

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TWENTY-EIGHT MICA PLATES OF INDIAN FIGURES IN THEIR ORIGINAL BOX
MURSHIDABAD, INDIA, LATE 18TH CENTURY
Of oval form, with slightly raised lid decorated with a finely and realistically rendered lemur, holding a nut or a seed, the borders with gilt dots, the sides with a band of recurring leaf motifs on gilt ground between two registers of geometric patterns, three androgynous faces painted in the interior on a plain light blue ground; the mica interchangeable faceless plates depicting various scenes of Indian life, some possibly depicting Todi ragini and Bhairavi ragini
The box 4 ½in. (11.5cm.) long

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拍品專文

The species of lemur depicted on the lid of this box is endemic to Madagascar. The depiction of such an animal on an Indian box shows the strong commercial links the Indian Ocean routes enabled. Lemurs were very probably brought back as fancy pets by wealthy Indian merchants settled in or plying the trade routes to Mauritius via the eastern African coast and Madagascar. The taste for exotic animals is well attested in provincial Mughal India, with menageries created in Murshidabad, Lucknow and Calcutta at the end of the 18th century. The numerous mica plates of this game are painted in a style that is close to that of Murshidabad after 1760-1780 AD. The depiction of this lemur, particularly vivid and accurate is strongly influenced by European paintings however. It recalls the best examples of Company School works such as the famous paintings commissioned by Colonel Gentil, Major Rind or Lady Impey - with the notable difference that the present box would certainly be one of the earliest examples of the type.

MURSHIDABAD, INDIA, LATE 18TH CENTURY

拍品專文

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