Calcutta

Read more about "Silver from India", from specific regions.

•  Kutch
•  Kashmir
•  Calcutta
•  Madras
•  Lucknow
•  Other Regions
•  Silversmiths' Design Drawings

•  Home

It was in Calcutta, in 1790, that the British East India Company first began the trading business that would, by 1858, lead to its control over all of India. Hamilton & Co. was the first British silversmith to set up shop in Calcutta. The pieces they produced in Calcutta, mainly for British consumption, were of polished silver with smooth lines and minimal decoration. 

Later on, in Bovanipore , a suburb of Calcutta, local silversmiths Grish Chunder Dutt, Dass & Dutt, and Goopee Nath Dutt created elaborately designed, répoussée, and chased scenes of Indian village and farming life, with human figures, animals, and trees.

Silver Garniture Figure of Elephant

Hamilton & Co 
Calcutta, India, ca. 1810
Sterling Silver

Dimensions: 7 inches H x 6 3/4 inches L 
                    (17.8 cm H x 17.2 cm L)
Weight:       50.18 oz (1,422.672 grams)

A Rare Anglo-Indian Silver Garniture Figure in the Form of a Caparisoned Elephant, ca. 1810, Hamilton & Co., Calcutta, established 1808 under license from the East India Company; the elephant depicted with mahout and a howdah fitted as a salt cellar with gilt interior, engraved:
 

PRESENTED TO THE MESS

of the 7th Madras Light Cavalry

 by

Lieut. J.C. Cleghorn 7th M.L.C.

on his promotion

Reference: Jackson, Sir Charles J. English Goldsmiths and Their Marks, p. 473.

 

Silver Decanter and Stopper by Hamilton

Hamilton & Co 
Calcutta, India, ca. 1863
Sterling Silver

Dimensions: 11 1/8 inches H  (28 cm)
Weight:        27 oz (765.5 grams)

An Indian colonial silver decanter and stopper with a cork, bottle-shaped, the tall tapering neck chased with straps of foliage issuing from a lobed bulbous base decorated in low relief with pendant foliage and acanthus leaves, engraved:
 

PRESENTED 

TO THE MESS

OF THE ROYAL SUSSES

LIGHT INFANTRY MILITA,

BY

MAJOR THE HONBLE. H. GAGE

AND

CAPTN. H. BETHUNE, 1863.

 

Maker’s marks: H&C, elephant, and other marks at the bottom of the decanter and ‘EKR’ twice, and other marks are on the stopper.

 

 

 

The East Indian Railway Cup 
with Bengal Tiger Handle

Hamilton & Co.

Calcutta, India, ca. 1867
Sterling Silver

Dimension: 4 ¾ inches, H (12 cm) 

Weight:      19.49 oz. (552.81 grams)

This beautifully designed and crafted piece, commemorating the completion of the railway line from Allahabad to Jubbulpore, is not only an object of beauty, but is also of great historical significance. Designed in a classical manner, without any adornment on the main part of the cup, it bears a stunningly beautiful replica of a snarling Bengal tiger, in pouncing position, all the more remarkable in its contrast to the simplicity of the cup itself.


Early in the American civil war, England's cotton workers had decided to stand with their factory-worker brothers on the Union side, and honor President Lincoln's request for a boycott of cotton that had been grown and harvested by slave labor. Without the American product, however, India and Egypt were hard-pressed to compete and fill the void, to keep the mills of Manchester running. While the world watched the outcome of the American war, the race was on.

Finally, in June 1867, two years after the end of the civil war—the battle-scarred cotton fields of the American South having been laid fallow—the East Indian Railway, which had established the Howrah-Delhi mainline via Allahabad [formerly Jubbulpore] from Itarsi, on 7 March 1870, linked op with the track from Allahabad, and established a connection between Calcutta and the port of Bombay, and thence to the cotton mills of Birmingham.

 

Indian native army No.6:
A baggage train on the march,
escort of the 20th Bengal (Punjab)
native infantry, reserve kit

 

So it was that the East India Company filled the trade gap created by the American civil war, and this cup commemorates one link in that historical chain of events. Before the railway was built, Indian regiments in the British army had to transport cotton overland, by camel and elephants, from the fields where it grew to the port of Bombay, and thence to the cotton mills of Manchester.

Inscription on front:

In Commemoration of

The successful completion

Of the

JUBBULPORE LINE

And to recall many happy

days and much

good fellowship

R.S. BRUNDELL

and his fellow labourers

have pledged each other

in this cup

JUNE 1^st 1867

Inscription on back:

Engineering Staff

H.P. LeMesurier Chief Engineer

[19 Engineers listed]

Contractors Staff

[9 Staff listed]

Inscription at the bottom:

Allahabad to Jubbulpore 223/2 Miles

Amount of Contract Rs. 17,000,000

Cost per mile £15,000

Messrs Waring Bros Hunt Contractors

Works commenced 1st March 1863

Finished 1st June 1867

Another tankard commemorating the completion of the Jubbulpore railway line with tiger handle, identical in size, and the form is published by Vidya Dehejia in Delight in Design, see pg.188.


Monumental Silver Pitcher

Grish Chander Dutt
Calcutta, India, ca. 1890
Sterling Silver

Dimension:  13 1/2” h (34.3 cm)

Weight:        93 oz. (2,892 grams)

This monumental pitcher from Calcutta has a body chased with stiff leaves below a band of figures dancing and playing musical instruments. The pitcher's handle is of particular note, formed by a figure emerging from the mouth of a fish and holding twisted and entwined serpents. Its upper body is adorned with zodiac symbols.

Calcutta was an extremely cosmopolitan city, and, in addition to Hindu images, important Muslim, Buddhist, and even festivals are sometimes represented and intertwined in its historical iconography and art. The symbols of the zodiac are part of the Calcutta tradition that often crosses cultural borders.

Provenance: Myrna and Bernard Posner, NY.

 

 

Exceptionally High Quality Hookah (Waterpipe) Set

By Lattey Brothers & Co.

Calcutta-India, Circa 1842-1855

Parcel-gilt silver

Dimensions:

28-3/4 inch (73cm) Height.
10-5/8 inch (27 cm) Base Diam. Bottom of Form

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By 1900 Calcutta is estimated to have been home to 20,000 Europeans and silverware in its colonial form was widely produced. Little is known of the Calcutta silversmiths Lattey Brothers although it is known that Hamilton & Co. was the first British silversmith to set up shop in Calcutta. Later local silversmiths such as Grish Chunder Dutt and Dass & Dutt, settled in near-by Bhowanipore producing various objects to satisfy both local and European taste.

 

Hookahs were considered to be part of the entertainment and leisure life of India as smoking hookahs was used to entertain households and social gatherings. They were produced in different parts of India using different materials some of which were expensive and luxurious and sometimes decorated and embossed with precious and semiprecious stones. The more expensive ones were produced from gold and silver and were aimed at serving the Indian elite society and the Europeans who lived in India.

 

This magnificent and very rare repousse silver complete hookah set was made in the 19th century in Calcutta by the British silversmiths Lattey Brothers and is a superb example of colonial Indian silver work. To find the complete set is quite rare as pieces get lost or damaged with the passage of time. The hookah dismantles into six separate pieces: the base (kali), the stem, which comes in two sections, one end is attached to the base and the other two separate pipes tops are attached one to the tobacco bowl (chilim or chilam) and its ornate lid (chilam push), and the other pipe is attached with the fixable snake-shaped tube, which commonly known as the snake, the tube is finely attached with the detachable carved and faceted agate mouthpiece. The mouthpiece is detachable from the snake-shaped tube and individuals who smoke the hookah each have their own piece that they use rather than use a common mouthpiece, which is more hygienic. All six pieces fit tightly together.

 

The extremely fine repousse parcel-gilt silver was made in a hybrid style combining both Indian and European taste. The artist had deliberately gilded the embossed decoration with high carat gold water on a plain silver background producing a vivid contrast.

 

The silversmith had used both the repousse and open work techniques in the making of the tobacco bowl (chilim or chilam) and cover. The bowl is designed in the form of a poppy pod covered with the finest chased floral scrollwork with an acanthus design leading up from the stem. The cover of the bowl is decorated with lion heads (lions are usually associated with royalty, power and high social status) and has an acorn shaped finial that is attached to the bowl with a chain with additional chains suspending decorations of tiny fish, crescent moons and blossoms.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

The two stems, one leading to the bowl, the other to the pipe, have been delicately decorated at their centres with finest gilt acanthus leaves. The base is a traditional round shape with a flat base of solid silver covered in chased repoussé gilt designs of beautifully executed lion heads amongst gilt floral scroll. The scrolling foliage is a common Indian and European design with a scallop shape motifs more in common with 17th and 18th century European decoration while the lion heads reinforce both the colonial neo-classical and Indian influence. The top of the base has a further wide and finely chased acanthus leaf border, again highlighted in gold.

This hookah closely resembles one in the collection of the Udaipur City Palace Museum.

 

 

Mahabharata Cup
Calcutta, India, ca. 1915

Attributed to: Grish Chander Dutt

 Sterling Silver

Dimension:  11” D, 9 1/2” H (28 cm D, 24.3 cm H)
Weight:        44.45 oz. (1,260 grams)

 

 

The top portion of this incredible cup is divided into six equal panels decorated with stories of great Hindu epic Mahabharata. The imagery’s likely source could be either miniature paintings, books, or oleographs. The base is illustrated with the typical Calcutta style rural scenes and coriander leaves. A bowl with a very similar style of the top rim by Grish Chander Dutt published in Reflecting Power: Three Schools of Indian Silver by Wynyard R. T. Wilkinson and Indar Pasricha Fine Arts, UK. For a similar bowl with six panels of Ramayana episodes see Wynyard R. T. Wilkinson’s Indian Silver 1858–1947, London, 1999, p. 62.

On the bottom of this cup is inscribed "Presented by Eastern Oil Products Ltd." and "Veedol Cup". To whom this cup is presented is not inscribed, presumably, it was never used. In the 1913 Veedol brand, lubricants for cars was created by an American company. Veedol has secured its place in history as it was the motor oil chosen by Henry Ford to be used in the Model "T" which was the world's first mass-produced car. The Veddol brand was owned by British Petroleum until 2011 when Veedol was sold by BP to Tidewater India.

Mahabharata

The Mahabharata is a Sanskrit epic narrated in the Vedic Period (Circa 8th/9^th C.BC). The main story revolves around the struggles of two branches of a family, the Kauravas, and the Pandavas, culminating in the great war at Kurukshetra, in which the Pandavas are ultimately victorious in their battle for the throne of Hastinapur.

The panels in this silver cup depict events from the epic Mahabharata.

In the first panel it appears to be a scene probably after the Pandavas have spent 13 years in exile they try to negotiate their return to Indraprastha, one of the emissaries they sent to talk to Duryodhana was Krishna. Here in this panel on the left appears to be Duryodhana dressed like a king with a turbaned crown, along with a sword, making a point with his raised hand and pointed finger. Standing diagonally opposite him we can identify Krishna by the Chakra in his left hand, to Krishna's right is Arjuna identified by the bow and arrows. To Krishna's left is Bhima carrying a mace on his shoulder, and behind Krishna are the remaining Pandava brothers.

The next panel depicts the incident called 'Cheer Haran' of Draupadi the common wife and queen of the Pandavas. This is the outcome of a game of dice organized by Duryodhana in the court at Hastinapur. During the game Yudhishthira the eldest Pandava lost everything, in the end, he lost himself, his brothers, and their queen Draupadi. Duryodhana ordered his brother Dushasana to drag Draupadi into the court and ordered him to rip off the clothes from her body since she was now their slave, and should not be dressed like a queen. At this instance, Draupadi prayed to Lord Krishna who performed a miracle whereby the sari or royal garb on her body never ended. Dushasana failed in his task and ultimately falls down exhausted.

Jarasandha was the father in law of Kansa the ruler of Mathura. The meaning of Jarasandha is "the one who is joined by the Goddess Jara" In this panel Jarasandha an accomplished wrestler is fighting with Bhima the strongest of the Pandava brothers. The duel continued for several days and neither of them was willing to give up. Bhima turned to Krishna for guidance. Krishna picked up a twig, dissected it into two halves, and threw the two parts in opposite directions. Bhima complied with the instructions and in our panel, Bhima’s left leg firmly pins Jarasandha's right foot to the ground while he is about to dissect his body in half. Subsequently, he will throw the two body parts in different directions so they may not be conjoined.

   

Presentation Claret Jug, Military Interest

Calcutta, India, ca. 1900

Attributed to Grish Chander Dutt
Sterling Silver

Dimensions:  

Size:    16 -1/8” h, 8" w (41 h, 18 w cm)

Weight:     46.5 oz. (1,317 grams)

 

This impressive and unusual Calcutta silver jug has been an example of “made to order” in the Calcutta tradition”. 

 

The jug has been finely ornamented with repousse and chased techniques featuring scenes of military training activity taking place on the Maidan (a vast grassy area) used for a variety of leisure and sporting activities and training of troops and as a parade ground. The chasing has been expertly done with the fine details of the grasses, shrubbery, rocks trees, and foliage all well-defined, the whole surface backdrop has been textured. 

 

The thick scroll handle is of plain silver, as is the hinged lid with its large finial depicting a crouching soldier with his rifle. The bulbous body of the jug has a band of plain silver to top and bottom, whilst the central area of the body and the neck are ornamented with extensive scenes of military life around the panoramic scenes that provides charming vistas of the Maidan. Soldiers with uniforms and helmets are shown standing guard, maneuvering cannons into position, and being drilled with their rifles. Weary soldiers sit under the shade of the trees on park benches with their rifles between their legs, having a brief rest after drilling or waiting for the hottest time of the day to pass. A mounted soldier is supervising the training whilst a soldier with a flaming torch stands by a cannon, awaiting the order to fire. Another mounted soldier ride along holding his drawn sword. The distinctive Ochterlony Monument, (now known as The Shaheed Mina or The Martyrs’ Monument) constructed on the Maidan in 1848, is also portrayed. 

 

Calcutta had been an important center for colonial silversmiths, as these workshops had expanded, they employed Indian and trained them in the British silver traditions. In the second half of the nineteenth century, several Indian silversmiths, Grish Chander Dutt, Das & Dutt, set up their workshops, in the area of Bhowanipore. Some of them continued to make silver in the European tradition. Perhaps in anticipation of the Calcutta International Exhibition of 1883, a new less European and more Indian style of silver emerged in the early 1880s. This became known as ‘Calcutta Style’ and objects were ornamented with scenes of Indian rural and village life or illustrated local folk or religious stories. The new Calcutta style was strongly represented at the International Exhibition of 1883.

 

The cartouche is framed on either side by a standard-bearer holding a tall flag and with both bearers standing on the cannon placed beneath. The inscription is difficult to comprehend; the ring around the central cartouche states to the upper part, ‘PRESENTED BY’, the inner part of the cartouche says ‘Lt Colonel’ whilst the lower part of the outer ring states ‘The Honble L. Jenkins’. This suggests that the jug was presented by the Honorable L Jenkins and that the recipient was Lieutenant Colonel. Very unusually there are no details of the Lieutenant Colonel’s Christian and surnames, nor is it dated. 

 

The inscription tells us that the jug was presented after 1898 when L Jenkins was appointed a Justice and would then have been addressed as the Honourable. I think the most likely explanation for the omission of the Lieutenant Colonel’s name is that the jug was presented to Lt Colonel Lumsden, probably in early 1900, and that the scenes portray his troops assembling on the Maidan, before departing for South Africa. Lumsden was a huge celebrity in Calcutta at this time and he and his regiment would have been so famous that it may have seemed unnecessary to record his name, particularly as the accompanying scenes of his troops training on the Maidan would have made the Lieutenant Colonel’s identity blindingly obvious to all.

 

At this time, England was engaged in the Boer Wars in South Africa and a political decision had been taken not to send any regular service units from India to assist in the conflict. In 1896, Lt Colonel Dugald Mactavish Lunsden requested permission from the British Government to raise a volunteer regiment in India to support the Boer War, the Indian Mounted Infantry Corps. Permission was duly granted and the Corps immediately became known after the commander and prime instigator, Lumsden, as “Lumsden’s Horse”. Lumsden’s Horse was immensely popular, particularly in India, where it was widely celebrated and seen as representing a contribution from the whole of India to the Empire in her hour of need. Lord Curzon became the Corps Honorary Colonel. Volunteer troops poured in and a plethora of donations and support came from industry, commerce, the Chamber of Princes, and the British Indian community, whilst a series of prominent and lavish fundraising events ensured that sufficient funds were raised to ensure that all the men were extremely well provisioned and equipped for combat.

 

“As the volunteers flooded in, Lumsden’s Horse camp on the Maidan in Calcutta grew and it soon became the place for fashionable elements of Calcutta society to visit on Sunday afternoons. For the troopers encamped on the Maidan, time must have passed quickly. They were kept busy, training in full campaign kit much of which was probably unfamiliar. On a normal day, the rouse would sound at 6 o’clock, followed by a bugle call at 7 o’clock calling them to saddle up. At half-past seven the men fell in on the Maidan ready for their first parade of the day, formed up in two companies of 120, each consisting of four sections, subdivided further into subsections of four each. This was followed by the grooming of their mounts, no doubt a challenging experience for the Anglo-Indian who had always had a syce to do this. This was followed by training, particularly on the Lee-Metford rifle and short bayonet, most of them have only ever used the Martini-Henry carbine before. Many of the volunteers were not impressed with their new rifle as it had no “kick to it.” Tiffin commenced at 1 o'clock and was followed by an afternoon parade at half-past four. The bed was supposed to be at half-past nine but the planters from the mofussil made the most of their time in Calcutta, enjoying bathing at the Swimming Club, tiffin at Pelite’s, dinners at the Bristol, Continental, and Grand, and a host of other amusements; it seems unlikely that many retired by this time.”

 

The presenter, Sir Lawrence Hugh Jenkins (1857/8–1928) was born in Wales. After his education at Cheltenham College and Oxford, he became a barrister and was called to the Bar at London’s Lincoln’s Inn in 1882/3. He went to Calcutta in 1895/6 and after two years working as a barrister in Calcutta, was appointed Justice of Calcutta High Court, becoming Chief Justice of Bombay High Court in 1910. He was knighted in 1899 and became a Knight Commander of the Indian Empire (KCIE) in 1908, the same year he became a Member of the Council of India. His main interest was the Freemasons and he served as District Grand Master of Freemasons for Bengal. He was admired for his legal reforms and his strong grasp and understanding of both British and Indian law. Rao said of him ‘... as a speaker, especially on social questions, he is perhaps unmatched’.

 

As the Chief Justice of Bengal, Sir Lawrence delivered several astute verdicts in several high-profile conspiracy and bombing cases in 1915. These cases were politically highly charged and required considerable adroitness. 

 

Published: Wynyard R T Wilkinson, Indian Silver 1858-1947, page 61.

Provenance: Joseph Cohen Antiques, UK; Alex Pushkin Antiques, UK.

 

  

Silver Swan: Object de Vertu

Hamilton & Co 
Calcutta, India, ca. 1810
Sterling Silver

Dimension:  3” h (7.62 cm)

Weight:        7.05 oz. (200 grams)

A lovely cast-silver objet de vertu by Hamilton & Co. (mainly of Calcutta, but which also had shops in Bombay, Delhi, and Simla), silversmiths who established 1808 in Calcutta under license from the East India Company and had business till 1971. This extraordinarily cast silver piece depicts a nesting swan, its wings outstretched supporting a shell. The hallmarks are inscribed on the bottom inner lip of the shell: H&Co, with the symbol of an elephant and a thistle. Hamilton & Co. was considered the Garrard’s of India, and the company created many luxury items, such as this piece, in the European taste.

Fan-Shaped Silver Tray

Calcutta, India, ca. 1890
Sterling Silver

Dimension: 14 x 20 Inches (35.56 x 50.8 cm)

Weight:       34.8 oz. (986.6 gram)

A charming and playfully designed fan-shaped tray, its central decoration an Indian village scene, with an array of palm and fruit trees behind thatched-roof houses, a woman in traditional clothing tending her garden, and several men carrying firewood. The lacy rim is further enhanced with additional depictions of villagers caught up in their daily activities.

For a strikingly similar example, see Wynyard R. T. Wilkinson’s Indian Silver 1858–1947, London, 1999, p. 59, tab. 82. The shape, the stylistic and decorative techniques, and the composition are almost identical to this example.

Large Silver Presentation Casket with Intact Original Scroll

Calcutta, India, ca. 1910
Sterling silver

Dimensions: 7 1/8 inches H x 18 ½ x 9 1/8 inches W (18 cm H x 47x23 cm W)
Weight:        60 oz. (1,700 gram)

In 1916, this historic piece was presented, upon his retirement, to one Edward William Stanley, stationmaster in Colaba, Bombay, for over thirty years. Colaba is one of the seven islands that comprises Bombay, its name deriving from Kolabhat, the language of Kolis, the indigenous inhabitants of the islands before the arrival of Portuguese and, later, the British.

The casket has been profusely embossed with human and animal figures against a landscape of foliage and buildings worked in the typically Calcutta style of the Colonial period. Within the casket is the original watercolor-and-calligraphy commemorative scroll, the artwork for which is signed “Mich. Bocarro, Bombay.”

The silver is inscribed but unhallmarked, testing reveals a silver quality of 800+. 

Provenance: Pushkin Antiques, London, UK.

Silver Teacup/Saucer

Calcutta, India, ca. 1890
Sterling Silver

Dimensions: 
Cup:     2 5/8 D x 3 Inches H (6.7 D x 7.5 cm H) 
Weight: 3.8 oz. (108 grams)
Saucer: 6 1/8 inches D (15.3 cm D) 
Weight: 5.25 oz. (149 grams)
Spoon: 5 5/8 inches D (14.3 cm L) 
Weight:1.5 oz. (42 grams)

Total Weight: 13.83 oz. (299 grams)

A Calcutta-style silver teacup, saucer, and teaspoon intricately decorated in regional designs: figures that are farming, collecting water from a stream, drawing water from a well. The cup has one atypical Calcutta design, a sailboat, and also depicts different animals, such as lions and buffaloes, set against palm trees, foliage, and structures. The matching teaspoon is engraved “BIH.” None of the pieces is hallmarked.

See similar silver teacup, saucer by Oomersi Mawji, in Kutch section of this blog. Neither set has any insulator in the cup handle, thus making the cup impossible to hold when filled with a hot beverage. 


Large Bowl with Village Scene

Calcutta, India, ca. 1900

Sterling silver

Dimensions: 9 1/2 in. w (24.1 cm)  

                     5 1/4 in. h. (13.3 cm)

Weight:         26.56 oz. (753 grams)

This large fruit bowl in the Calcutta style depicts a number of village scenes: a farmer harvesting the crops in his field, some huts, a garden wall, some trees, water being drawn from a well, an oxcart, and a figure washing clothes. In the distant background, some hills hint at distance and perspective, and a band of ornamentation circles the rim and base above and below the landscape. As is typical for most Indian silver not made in Anglo-Indian ateliers, it bears no regulation hallmark, but has a stippled inscription or signature (not recognizable), set in a sunburst design.

"Swami" Style Tea Service

Cooke & Kelvey, Calcutta, ca.1880

Sterling Silver

Dimensions:

Teapot:
Height: 7 1/4 inches H x 8 1/4 x 4 1/4 inches W (18.41 cm H x 21 x 10.8 cm W)
Weight: 32.04 oz. (908.32 gram)

Sugar Bowl:
Height:  5 3/8 inches H x 4 inches W (13.65 cm H x 10.16 W)
Weight: 19.11 oz. (541.75 gram)

Creamer:
Height:  5 3/8 inches H x 4 1/2 x 4 5/8 inches W (13.65 cm H x 11.44 x 11.75 cm W)
Weight: 14.35 oz. (406.8 gram)

A stunning 19^th-century Indian silver tea service, comprised of teapot, sugar bowl, and cream jug. The pieces are decorated with swami-style stylized Indian deities set in oval cartouches, with Madras-style leaf and bead borders. (Although the service was made in Calcutta, by Cooke & Kelvey, it is the firm of Peter Orr and the region of Madras that are more usually associated with swami style than Calcutta.) 

 

Each piece has four cast lion’s-paw feet, but the stylistic pièce de résistance is the spout: an elephant head—with well-formed tusks and upraised trunk.

Each piece bears on its underside the Cooke & Kelvey hallmark (Robert Thomas Cooke and Charles Kelvey, 1859-present).

Provenance: Pushkin Antiques, London, UK.

Dragon Tea Pot

Goopee Nath Dutt

Calcutta, India, ca.1890

Sterling Silver 835

Dimensions: 10 3/4 in. handle to spout 
                     (23.5 cm)

                     6 1/2 in. tall (20.32 cm)

Weight:         28.04 oz. (795 grams)

This is a very unusual and piece, signed by Goopee Nath Dutt, from Bhowanipore, Calcutta. The quality of Dutt’s craftsmanship was well established, but what is unusual about this piece is its dragon handle, not usually seen in pieces of Indian design. The dragon is very finely done, with scales delineated over the full length of its body, and its claws drawn into itself. It is possible that the pot was made for the China export trade, since the dragon was a popular Chinese theme, and the style of the finial is also of a type more Burmese or Chinese than Indian. The piece depicts scenes of rural village life: two different pairs of bullocks, pulling ploughs; one dhoti-clad figure, walking, sheltering himself with a parasol; another carrying a basket; and several village huts amid palm trees and umbrella trees.

Like others of the different Dutts’ pieces from Calcutta, this silver is heavy and is marked  “830,”  which is the usual purity of Calcutta silver. The teapot is doubly hallmarked, one mark the same as Dutt’s other domestic Indian pieces, the other a mark used only for pieces made for export. 

Village Scene Coffee Pot

Calcutta, India, ca.1890

Sterling Silver

Dimensions: 9 1/4 in. handle to spout 
                    (23.5 cm)

                     8 in. h (20.32 cm)

Weight:         22 oz. (623.69 grams)

The coffee pot is in classic, fluted-corner urn design, with gently scalloped rims to its inverted shoulder, and it is adorned with beautiful chased scenes of Indian village and farming life that are characteristic of Calcutta silver (Wilkinson, pp. 58-63). A bare-chested farmer leads a pair of oxen, while a second farmer is seen in the distance, amid tall cypress and palm trees, tending neatly tilled rows of crops. Villagers are shown preparing food and taking wares to market, and there is a series of thatched-roof dwellings and a shrub-lined walkway.

The coffeepot retains the original, ebonized, mushroom-form finial atop a turned pedestal base. Set above, to one side, is a single elephant, and, to the other, is a lone farmer amid trees and rolling hills. There is a conforming leaf cap and in-cut center, and an ebonized handle. Its only “hallmark,” as shown, is the words “Sterling Silver.” It is unusual for 19th-century Indian silver to be so marked. 

Sweetmeats Bowl

Grish Chunder Dutt
Calcutta, India, ca. 1900

Sterling silver

Dimension: 4 in. w (10.2 cm) 

                   1 7/8 in. h. (4.8 cm)

Weight:       2.69 oz. (76.4 grams)

In his time, Grish Chunder Dutt was the finest silversmith in Calcutta. This charming sweetmeats bowl, in the Calcutta style, depicts a village scene of a farmer harvesting the crops in his field. In the background can be seen his hut, some palm trees, and other foliage. A ruffled rim ornaments the piece, which—atypically for most Indian silver not made in Anglo Indian ateliers—bears a signature set in a fan-shaped design. 

Condiment Bowl

Calcutta, India, ca. 1890

Sterling silver

Dimension: 4.25 in. (10.5 cm) wide, 2 in. (4.7cm) high

Weight: 3.88 oz. (110 grams)

A bowl with much of the coriander-leaf pattern for which Kutch was known, but with a departure from Kutch style in the Calcutta-style foliage and ogee-shaped, medallion-framed scenes of havelis and shrines.

 

Double-Ended Spirit Measures

Calcutta, India, ca. 1880

Sterling silver

Dimensions: 4 1/4 in. h  (10.9 cm)

                     2 in., 1 3/4 in. diam. (4.8 and 4.5 cm)

The larger end measures two fluid ounces; the smaller, one. 

Weight:         2.9 oz. (83 grams)­ 

This double-ended spirit measure is of Calcutta origin. This sterling silver is distinctively European in form, but features a beautifully rendered landscape, featuring scenes of rural Bengali life in a tropical, bucolic background in a style that is characteristically Calcutta.

Reminiscent of the days of the Raj, it evokes images of chota peg sundowners on the veranda of the bungalow.  

Set of Pepper Pots

Dass & Dutt, Calcutta, India, ca. 1890

Sterling silver

Dimension: 2 in. (5.2 cm) 

Weight:       2.11 oz. (60 grams)­

There were several silversmth shops in Bhovanipore in Calcutta around 1850-1900. Along with Dass & Dutt, another very celebrated silversmith was Grish Chunder Dutt, who also designed pieces depicting Bengali village life. This charming set of pepper pots with pull-off lids depicts a village scene of a farmer harvesting the crops in his field. In the background can be seen his hut, some palm trees, other foliage, and animals. Though it has a cartouche for a monogram, it has never been engraved. The hallmark on the bottom of each piece reads  “Dass & Dutt-Bhovanipore.”

Set of Two Identically Designed Bowls with a Story

Bowl 1 marked: Monohar Dutt, Bhowanipore, Calcutta

Bowl 2 marked: Monohar Dutt, Dass & [sic strikethrough] Dutt, Bhowanipore, Calcutta

Both, ca. 1890

Sterling silver

Dimensions: 4 1/2 in. diam., 1 3/4 in. h

                     (11.4 cm diam., 4.5 in. h) 

Weight:         6.72 oz. (190.9 grams) for the two

There were several silversmith shops in Bhovanipore, in Calcutta, in the period from about 1850-1900. This charming set of bowls is designed with the typical Calcutta silversmith’s village scene, farm animals, and huts surrounded by trees. 

The story here can only be speculated upon, but it appears to suggest that the smith was working with one shop when he created the first bowl (the one marked “Dass and”), but that, before the second bowl was completed, he ended his association with that shop and left to open a shop on his own. The hallmark on the first piece has had the “Dass and” portion of the hallmark struck through, while the second piece is marked only with the name “Mohonar Dutt.”

Indian Colonial Quaich Cup

Cooke and Kelvey, Old Court House St.

Calcutta ca. 1942.

Sterling silver

Dimensions: The cup, excluding the handles, measures 5¼ in. in diameter (13.5cm) and stands 1¾ in. high.

Weight: 9 oz. (272 grams)

The quaich (pronounced quake) is a Scottish cup form that dates from medieval times. By the seventeenth century, the quaich, used for drinking whiskey or brandy, had come into use in such population centers as Edinburgh and Glasgow. Its flat form allowed its owner to tuck it into his cloak without creating too much bulk. Some of these vessels were made with glass bottoms, to allow the drinker to keep an eye out for his enemies even while he imbibed. Even in its early days, quaiches were made in a simple form we might think of today as “modern.”

This particular quaich is from the twilight of the Raj, but it nonetheless has the earmarks of the good commemorative pieces of earlier times. It was presented to one W. F. Penberthy, winner of the Cashmere Cup in 1941, by the Royal Calcutta Golf Club, which was founded in 1829.  

Quaich

Hamilton & Co., Calcutta

Elephant Hallmark, c. 1880

Dimensions: (10.2 cm x 3.5 cm)

Weight:        (70 gram) 

 

Another quaich, or Scottish drinking cup, typically shallow (like a porringer), with two handles. 

This particular quaich, is in perfect, worn condition, with a particularly fine patina. What is unusual is that the hallmark appears in two places, one on the underside of each handle. Hamilton, of course, is the Colonial smith who maintained an atelier in Calcutta, making silver household pieces mostly for the British.

Silver Designs

Two Pen-and-Ink Drawings and a Silver Ewer

J. Hamilton

Pen-and-Ink Drawings
Ink on India paper with blind stamp: “Rolland Frères Bordeaux.”
Ca. 1850.
Hamilton & Co., Calcutta

1. Pen-and-ink drawing
Inscribed: “Rough Sketch of a very handsome Tankard R225/, J Hamilton & Co.”
Dimensions: approx. 16 1/2 in. x 10 1/4 in. / 42 x 26 cm.

Blind stamp on paper: “Rolland Frères Bordeaux.”

From the famous Calcutta silversmiths who served the British Raj. This exquisite drawing would likely have been sent out to one of the firm’s clients on approval. 

The design for the covered tankard is a piece of fine art in itself. The piece is perfectly proportioned and bears a slightly baroque scrolling design of flowers and leaves.

1a. Silver Ewer

Dimensions: 15 1/2 in. h (39.3 cm)
Weight: 48 oz. (1,360 grams)

Hamilton & Co., Calcutta, ca. 1850

An ewer bearing the Cockburn family crest, a standing rooster, and the motto Accendit Cantu (He excites us with his song). The ewer, as can be seen in the photo, is almost identical to the pen-and-ink drawing for the Hamilton ewer. This rare, Indian, circa-1850 ewer is one of a pair and is very crisply hallmarked.

M. D. Cockburn was a Scottish coffee planter and district collector of Salem, in Tamil Nadu, India, between 1820 and 1829. Cockburn is known as the "Father of Yercaud" for having developed the resources of the Shevaroy Hills, and for having introduced the cultivation of coffee, pears, and apples into most of the hill stations of Tamil Nadu, particularly in Yercaud, a small hill station in the Salem District. 

  

Provenance: Still Life, Ewan Lamont, UK 

2. Pen-and-Ink Drawing

Inscribed: “Rough Sketch of a very handsome Silver Claret Jug, R450/, J Hamilton & Co.”
Dimensions: approx. 10 1/2 in. x 8 1/4 in.
(26.6 x 21 cm)

This design for an ewer, in the narrow-necked, full-bodied shape of such pieces at the time, bears a motif of vines and grapes, with the woody extension of the vine curving up and forming the handle. As with the tankard, the drawing is beautifully rendered and is a work of art in itself.

Unusual & Monumental Colonial Silver Tankard-Form Biscuit Barrel

Robert Hamilton

Sterling Silver, with Gold Wash
Ca. 1822-1850
Hamilton & Co., Calcutta

Dimensions: H 8 1/2 in, Base 6-7/8 in,  Dia. 
                    (H 21.6 x Base 17.5 cm. Dia,)
Weight:        44.4 oz. (1,259 grams)

This extraordinary solid-silver vessel, by the Colonial Indian silversmiths Hamilton & Co., based in Calcutta, most probably is unique and likely to have been a one-off commission. Certainly, nothing like it has been published. Although of tankard form, the piece is more likely to have been used as a biscuit barrel, meant to be passed around after dinner. That the lid fits so tightly supports this conclusion.

The piece comprises a wide, flared foot, finely chased with an extravagant border of laurel leaves. From this, rises the body of the vessel, which, other than gently gadrooned and crenulated sides, is of plain silver.

A fabulous handle, in the form of a cornucopia, protrudes from the side, being emitted from the mouth of a Green-Man image with puffed-out cheeks and wearing a band of ivy across his flowing hair.

The lid is domed and gadrooned in the style of the base and is adorned with an extremely finely rendered floral and leaf spray that serves as a handle.

The interiors of both vessel and lid are gilded.

The use of the Green-Man motif is highly unusual and possibly uniquely used in a piece of Indian Colonial silver. The Green-Man motif has its origins in medieval England. Alternative (and more traditional names) are “leaf man,” “foliate head,” and “leaf mask,” but its use as a motif seems to have fallen out of favor in the mid-sixteenth century and to have been revived only in the nineteenth century (Hayman, 2014, p. 6).  Often, such motifs were found chiseled in the stone of the exteriors of churches and other public buildings or carved in oak, in the interiors. The precise reason for the motif’s evolution is now obscure. Some have suggested that it has pagan origins, but there is no evidence of its use in pre-Christian times, at least not in England.

Hamilton & Co. used a variety of maker’s and other marks in place of “proper” assay or hallmarks that would have been used in England and Scotland. The sequence of marks on this piece seems to have been used from approximately 1820–1850. The marks are what appears to be a thistle, an urn, the initials “H&Co.,” an elephant, and the letter “A.” Wilkinson (1999, p. 53) mentions that the urn mark tends to have appeared only on more important pieces and was used from 1815–1850.

Hamilton & Co. was founded in Calcutta about 1815.  According to Wilkinson (1999, p. 53), the shop operated from premises at 7 Old Court House St., in Calcutta, for at least some of its life.

Provenance:  Michael Backman Ltd., UK.

Pair of Indian Colonial Silver Presentation Cups/Vases and Covers

Robert Hamilton

Sterling Silver, with Gold Wash
Ca. 1840
Hamilton & Co., Calcutta 

Left photo:                                                   Right photo:
Height to top of finial 15.5cm/6.1"              Height to top of finial 15cm/5.9"
Height to rim 12.1cm/4.8"                           Height to rim 11.8cm/4.6"
Diameter of rim 8cm/3.1"                            Diameter of rim 8.3cm/3.3"
Diameter of foot 6.1cm/2.4"                        Diameter of foot 6.1cm/2.4"
Weight 14.2 troy ounces/442grams             Weight 16.2 troy ounces/504grams

A fine and unusual pair of Hamilton silver presentation cups in the Italian Campania form, with a pedestal and circular shaped foot. The body of each vessel is embellished with an engraved presentation inscription on one side. On one: “Fanny Catherine Dunseley Macrae, the Gift of her affectionate Godfather and Godmother, Richard and Fanny Ouseley.” On the other: “To Charles Colin Macrae, on the 16th August 1844, the first anniversary of his Birthday, the gift of his affectionate Friends Fanny and Richard Ouseley.” This one also bears the crest of an arm and hand grasping a sword above a coat of arms and the motto “Fortitudine” [with fortitude]. (The coat of arms and motto belong to the Scottish clan MacRae/Macrae, from the Gaelic name Mac Rath.)

Each piece has handles naturalistically modeled in the form of two cordons extending from a grapevine trunk accented with grape-and-leaf decorated terminals. The vases retain the original, domed push-fit covers encircled with chased grape and foliate ornamentation to the shaped rims. The covers are each surmounted by silver finials depicting, on one, a stemmed grape cluster, and, to the other, a convolvulus-style floral and foliate design. 

Published: Stephen Markel, Mughal and Early Modern Metalware from South Asia at LACMA, page 212.

Provenance: AC Silver, UK.

Claret Jug

Robert Hamilton

Sterling Silver, with Gold Wash
Ca. 1821-1845
Hamilton & Co., Calcutta

Dimensions: 13 1/2 in. (34.3 cm.)
Weight:         80.06 oz. (2,270 grams)

This claret jug is ornamented with a heavily baroque floral motif and has an eagle finial. The hallmarks are stamped on the bottom rim and etched in letters and numbers on the underside. Silversmith Robert Hamilton arrived from London in 1808 and opened a shop in Calcutta. Unlike some other Colonial silversmiths who worked in India (such as P. Orr, who incorporated a Hindu-deities, or “swami,” theme, Hamilton maintained European forms and design in his work). 

Raj-Period Silver Bowl

Dass & Dutt, Calcutta, India, ca. 1890

Sterling silver

Dimensions: 3 3/4 in.s w, 2 1/4 in.s h

                     (9.5 cm w, 5.7 cm h) 

Weight:         5.53 oz. (156.8 grams)­

This is an unusually simple design for a Calcutta silversmith and appears to have been commissioned and monogrammed for a British client. The bowl is very heavy and bears a simple thumbprint or flower-petal pattern on the side. The serif monogram is the intertwined “SMP,” and the hallmark on the underside reads “Dass & Dutt-Bovanipore-Calcutta.”

Sterling Silver Mug

Calcutta, India, ca. 1900

Sterling silver

Dimension:

5 1/4 in. h (13.3 cm)

Weight: 11.6 oz. (329 grams)

Sterling silver mug, Anglo-Indian, early 20th century, finely decorated with répoussée and chased designs of figures in natural surroundings, a farmer and a village scene of a washerman, with hills in the background and an elephant, with a loop handle on one side. This mug has never been monogrammed. The “Sterling Silver” stamp is on the bottom of the mug. 

Silver Inkstand and Penholder

Calcutta, India, ca. 1880

Sterling Silver

Dimension:  8 1/2 x 5 inches (22 x 13 cm)
Weight:       15.87 oz. (450 Grams)   

Charming desk set with two hinged-top silver ink bottles. The piece, which is unmarked, is decorated with animals and rural scenes in typical Calcutta style and has four ball feet.     

Silver Torch Stand 

Dass & Dutt

Calcutta, India, ca. 1885 
Sterling Silver

Dimensions: Height 6 5/8 inches (16.6 cm)
                     Top Dia. 3 3/8 inches (8.7 cm)
                     Base Dia. 4 5/8 inches (11.6 cm)
Weight:        12.92 oz (366.28 grams)

This unusual silver object was created in the prominent silver shop of Dass & Dutt, in Bovanipore, Calcutta, where most of the nineteenth-century Calcutta silversmiths had their ateliers. The piece is in the form of a hollow tube, with upper and lower decorative bands depicting a landscape with huts and trees, and the center, larger band depicting scenes of daily village and farm life—both themes typical of Calcutta style.

This object was referred to by its seller as a “Torch stand/handle,” but the writer of this blog has no knowledge of how this object could have been used—nor has he seen another example of any similar item—and so he would welcome hearing from any reader who might be familiar with its function.

 

Two Indian Silver Dresser Items: Mirror and Brush

Calcutta, India, ca. 1890

Sterling Silver

Dimensions: Mirror, 10 1/4 in. x 3 1/4  in. w (26.3 cm long, 9.5 cm wide)

                     Brush, 10 in. l, 2 3/4  in w (25.4 cm l, 6.9 cm w)

 

Mirror and brush, not matching, but both worked in high relief, showing high quality and detail of Calcutta style typical of its period.

The mirror depicts farmers in a field with trees, houses, an elephant, and human figures, in scenes of village life on the mirror back, front of the handle, and back of the handle. The back design features a cartouche with an entwined “CL” monogram.

The brush is particularly skillfully worked, with various scenes featuring two women under a tree, a hunter on horseback accompanied by a hound, a king receiving one of his subjects, and various livestock and wild game.  There is decorative beading around the rim of the brush and handle back, and another smaller-scale, delicate design within the beading.

+ + +

Read more about "Silver from India", from specific regions.

•  Kutch
•  Kashmir
•  Calcutta
•  Madras
•  Lucknow
•  Other Regions
•  Silversmiths' Design Drawings

•  Home

Comments made be posted directly on this blog, or the blogger can be reached at Silver from India.