NORTH INDIA, LATE 18TH CENTURY

Details

A MATCHLOCK RIFLE MADE FOR MIR GHULAM 'ALI KHAN TALPUR
NORTH INDIA, LATE 18TH CENTURY
Of typical form, the butt inlaid with bone with a band of stylised cypress trees issuing from a horizontal band with engraved roundels with traces of pigment, the trees terminating in rosettes, further rosettes and stylised birds above, the stock with silver fittings terminating in cusped palmettes at either end and rosette pins, the head and end of the elegantly watered-steel barrel overlaid with a gold rosette lattice terminating in a cusped palemettes, a gold owner's inscription on the side of the head of the barrel which reads Sarkar Mir Ghulam 'Ali Khan Talpur in elegant nasta'liq script, the barrel with seven silver brackets with elegant lozenges on the top, ramrod and silver fitting around the base of the barrel, two further brackets beneath the stock
60¼in. (153cm.) long

Special notice

These lots have been imported from outside the EU for sale using a Temporary Import regime. Import VAT is payable (at 5%) on the Hammer price. VAT is also payable (at 20%) on the buyer’s Premium on a VAT inclusive basis. When a buyer of such a lot has registered an EU address but wishes to export the lot or complete the import into another EU country, he must advise Christie's immediately after the auction.

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Lot Essay

Mir Ghulam ‘Ali Khan Talpur (d. 1811) was the ruler of Hyderabad in Sindh. The Talpurs were a wealthy Baluchi dynasty who controlled most of Sindh until its eventual annexation by the British in 1843. The Talpurs were known for their passion for hunting and in particular their elaborately decorated firearms. Our example has a very elegant watered-steel barrel which is decorated at both ends with gold-damascened rosettes. For further examples of similarly elaborately decorated firearms which are also dedicated to Talpur rulers see Nasreen Askari, Treasures of the Talpurs: Collections from the Courts of Sindh, Karachi, 1999, pp.58-62.

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