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In the ancient kingdom of Avadh, where Islamic culture once thrived, the population of the old city of Lucknow is still mostly Muslim. In earlier times, the silver objects produced were mostly hookahs (huqqahs), pann dabbas, or rose-water sprinklers, which were made for Nawabs and Muslim rulers. Later on, Lucknow silversmiths began adopting patterns from other parts of India—Kutch, Calcutta, Madras, and Kashmir.
Lucknow silver had three major motifs: the jungle, with groves of date palms and various animals, such as dogs, bears, deer and birds; coriander leaves and flowers; and hunting scenes, with lions, tigers, and horses.
Lucknow, India, ca. 1890
Sterling silver
Dimensions:
Teapot – 7 1/2 in. handle to spout
(19 cm), 4 1/2 in. tall (11.4 cm)
Tea Set Weight: 19 oz. (538.64 grams)
This is a beautifully classic circular-formed, meticulously hand-wrought Indian coin-silver jungle-hunt-scene (assembled) tea service, ca.1890. The teapot and sugar bowl are perfectly matching, and the cream jug has a near-identical decoration.
The tea service, worked in brilliant répoussé and chasing, consists of jungle hunting scenes: a hunter atop an elephant, another figure with the raised club, a traveler carrying water jugs on the pole, and lions, elephants, rabbits, and foxes. A rabbit is depicted eating low-hanging fruit, while a smaller creature climbs a palm tree, and a lion attacks one of a pair of elephants, all set amid tall palm trees and lush jungle foliage. The teapot has a richly detailed standing-elephant finial, and the cream jug has a slender, coiled-cobra handle. The teapot and sugar bowl bear peacock hallmarks.
This extraordinary bowl, displaying typical Lucknow themes, is distinctive not only for the skill and imagination of its artistry but also for its mythological depictions. Particularly distinctive are characters legends, which are displayed in a great ferocious battle.
The winged, dragonlike beast is the buffalo demon, Mahisa, who first appears in the massive epic Mahabharata, who is also mentioned in the Vamana Purna and Matsya Purna. (He will eventually be slain by the deities Rudra and Skanda.)
Bombay Bowl
This
large bowl is a conundrum. Were it not marked at all, every expert would identify it as a Lucknow piece. The Lucknow style, of skillfully executed villagers, animals, and various hunting
scenes, all set against a stippled landscapes, is unmistakable. Unmistakable
too is the oversized coriander-leaf border around the bowl’s base.
Traditionally, however, Lucknow pieces were marked on their undersides by
depictions of animals, flowers, or birds, each one the mark of a particular
individual silversmith.
This
writer has not read any history of an Indian silversmith named Chellaram. All
of that said, the bowl is clearly marked, on its underside:
Regardless of its mysterious origins, the bowl is an important piece, beautifully executed, and obviously created for an affluent patron. If any reader has more information either about Bombay silver or about Chellaram, the writer of this blog would be most interested.
This unusually large silver ewer has a domed,
hinged lid, and its spout and its handle are each formed with a dog’s head at
its apex. Although the piece is not marked, the clues to its origins lie in its
decoration: A band that circumscribes the upper part of the sphere of its
middle bears a motif of fish swimming in a stream, and that pattern is repeated
on the piece’s base. Lucknow was the capital of the Kingdom of Oudh, and the
fish was the traditional emblem of the Nawabs of Oudh. In addition, the shape
of the ewer is clearly Mughal.
Different types of exotic flora and a variety
of fauna—lions; water buffalo; a pair of geese; gazelles; a stork; anhingas, or
snakebirds; herons and other waterbirds; and peacocks—are chased into the surface. The monumental piece weighs an
astonishing little more than five kilos!
This presentation tray is inscribed,
Although the presentation date is 1920, it is quite likely the tray’s creation is earlier than that date. The piece bears the typically Lucknow design motifs of fish and palm trees on the pierced rim, and also depicts such vignettes as a hunting scene, the hunter mounted on an elephant and about to spear a lion;, a tiger in the jungle; a Shiva temple displaying a Shiva lingam;, and a farmer guiding a water buffalo who is drawing water from a well.
Provenance: Illustrated and published in Wilkenson’s Indian Silver 1858–1947, 1999.
Sterling Silver
Lucknow Teapot
Late 19th Century
The scrolling fish border on the pot’s shoulder is the symbol of the Nawebro of Oudh, and, regardless of any other feature (Wilkinson, page 126), it assures that the piece is from Lucknow. That said, none of Wilkinson’s photos of Lucknow pieces (pp. 129-141) depicts any design similar to the figures depicted on this teapot.
Dimensions:
Anglo-Indian Hunt Scene Vase
This is a 19th-century Indian silver répoussé and chased footed vase from Lucknow. This vase design consists of one of Lucknow silver’s major themes: the jungle, with groves of date palms and various animals and birds; coriander flowers; and hunting scenes. The band circling the center of the vase depicts a hunting scene, and features various human forms, as well as birds, lions, tigers, dogs, horses, bears, and deer.
This bowl has been constructed in exceptionally heavy-gauge sterling silver and has never been monogrammed. Its only “hallmark,” as shown, is the silversmith’s “Peacock” mark on the underside of the bowl. Many pieces of Lucknow silver bear hallmarks of animal forms: incised peacocks, lions, elephants, antelopes, and other animals.
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Lucknow Jungle Scene Bowl
Dimensions: 7 1/2 in. h x 9 1/2 in.
diam. (19.05 cm high x 24.13 diam.)
Weight: 41.98 oz. (1,190 grams)
Weight: 41.98 oz. (1,190 grams)
This extraordinary bowl, displaying typical Lucknow themes, is distinctive not only for the skill and imagination of its artistry but also for its mythological depictions. Particularly distinctive are characters legends, which are displayed in a great ferocious battle. The winged, dragonlike beast is the buffalo demon, Mahisa, who first appears in the massive epic Mahabharata, who is also mentioned in the Vamana Purna and Matsya Purna. (He will eventually be slain by the deities Rudra and Skanda.)
Bombay Bowl
D. Chellaram, Bombay
Sterling Silver
Dimensions: 5 in. h x 8 in. diam. (12.7 cm high x 20.3 diam.)
Weight: 21.15 troy oz. (658 grams)
Sterling Silver
Dimensions: 5 in. h x 8 in. diam. (12.7 cm high x 20.3 diam.)
Weight: 21.15 troy oz. (658 grams)
D. CHELLARAM BOMBAY
Regardless of its mysterious origins, the bowl is an important piece, beautifully executed, and obviously created for an affluent patron. If any reader has more information either about Bombay silver or about Chellaram, the writer of this blog would be most interested.
Mughal Ewer
Lucknow, ca.1900
Sterling Silver
Dimensions: 16.5 in. tall (42 cm), spout to handle 15 in. (38 cm)
Weight: 176+ oz. (5+ kg.)
A Presentation Tray
Lucknow, ca.1890
Sterling Silver
Dimensions: 15 3/4 in. length (40 cm)
Weight: 16.7 oz. (475 grams)
Presented to Mr. and Mrs. R. B. Young
by the
Y.M.C.A.
Naina-Tal
Oct 1920
Provenance: Illustrated and published in Wilkenson’s Indian Silver 1858–1947, 1999.
Jungle Scene Oval Tray
Lucknow, ca.1900Sterling Silver
Dimension: 11 5/8 x 14 1/2 (29.5 x 37 cm)
Weight: 20.12 oz. (570.39 Gram)
A fish pattern, the pervasive theme of this oval
tray, comes from the symbol of the Nawebro of Oudh, and it was frequently used
by local Oudh silversmiths in border decorations. The fish make their first
appearance on the fluted and beaded rim. They appear again, in a stylized
the border on the inside portion of the tray, and, finally, the theme is alluded to
yet a third time, in the ground of the landscape in the center: not fish this
time, but as a cross-hatching pattern of large fish scales.
The inner portion of the tray depicts a highly
detailed and typical Lucknow jungle scene, with elephants, tigers, lions, and
other animals; palm trees; and a large haveli
surrounded by huts.
The inner portion of the tray depicts a highly
detailed and typical Lucknow jungle scene, with elephants, tigers, lions, and
other animals; palm trees; and a large haveli
surrounded by huts.
This heavy-gauge silver is the répoussé and chased work most favored by
Muslim patrons.
Lucknow TeapotLate 19th Century
Sterling Silver
Dimensions: 7 ½ in. handle to spout
(19.5 cm) 6 ¼ in. tall (15.8cm)
(19.5 cm) 6 ¼ in. tall (15.8cm)
Weight: 15 ½ oz. (432 grams)
Unusual eight-sided teapot from Lucknow, depicting various deities or their avatars. The handle is a cobra, and the finial, an elephant. Although the piece bears the characteristic Lucknow palm trees, scrolling fish, and Lucknow “hallmark” on its underside (see photo), it also bears the coriander motif of Kutch. The head of a winged leopard adorns the top of each of the eight sides.
The scrolling fish border on the pot’s shoulder is the symbol of the Nawebro of Oudh, and, regardless of any other feature (Wilkinson, page 126), it assures that the piece is from Lucknow. That said, none of Wilkinson’s photos of Lucknow pieces (pp. 129-141) depicts any design similar to the figures depicted on this teapot.
The teapot is in excellent condition, with its interior free of any use discoloration, and it has a rich all-over patina. The cover closes flush to the base, and the brilliantly carved figures retain their original, crisp, sharp detail.
Silver Coffee Pot
Lucknow, India, ca. 1880
Sterling Silver
Dimensions:
Height: 7 1/2 in. (19 cm)
Width: 7 1/4 in. (18.5 cm)
Weight: 11.83 oz. (368 grams)
This 19th-century Indian sterling-silver coffee pot, with a spherical body and cylindrical neck, was made circa 1880 and is in excellent condition. It has a hinged lid, with a superbly cast final in the form of a snake-charmer, who is playing a flute as he faces a cobra, and the serpent is coiled and shaped to become the pot’s handle. The sides of the body and neck of the pot are decorated with embossing, and further chased to depict elephants wandering amid blooming trees. The pot’s long spout bears further foliate scrolling.
Lucknow, India, ca. 1880
Sterling silver
Dimensions: 6 3/8 in. tall x 7 1/2 in. wide
(16.2 cm x 19.04 cm)
Weight: 21.3 oz. (663 grams)
This is a 19th-century Indian silver répoussé and chased footed vase from Lucknow. This vase design consists of one of Lucknow silver’s major themes: the jungle, with groves of date palms and various animals and birds; coriander flowers; and hunting scenes. The band circling the center of the vase depicts a hunting scene, and features various human forms, as well as birds, lions, tigers, dogs, horses, bears, and deer.
Tiger Hunt Bowl
Lucknow, India, ca.1890
Sterling Silver
Dimensions: 3 3/8 in. h (9 cm)
6 in. w (15 cm)
Weight: 11.22 oz. (317.9 grams)
The bowl is in classic form, with flat rims to its shoulder, and is adorned with beautiful répoussé and chased scenes of an elephant, a family of tigers, and a hunter—scenes that are characteristic of Lucknow silver.
Lucknow Bowl with Rim Detail
Lucknow, India, ca.1890
Sterling Silver
Dimensions: 3 3/4 inches diam., 2 ½ in. h (9.5 x 6.3 cm)
Weight: 4.27 oz. (121.3 grams)
Small bowl, displaying the Lucknow trademark palm trees, as well as, on the side not shown, some naïve and charmingly worked animals. The top is composed of ogee-shaped scalloping. Lucknow pieces, while rarely signed, often display the silversmith’s coded hallmark, an animal engraved on the underside. Here, it is the elephant, but one also sees a peacock or other bird or animal, and the pieces are sometimes referred to as done by “the elephant smith,” or the “peacock [or another animal] smith.”
