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Lot 34
A large and impressive painting in six sections depicting an extensive royal procession with the Sawai Maharaja Jai Singh Prabhakar, Maharajah of Alwar (reg. 1892-1937), signed by R. Sahai, the Alwar State Painter Alwar, Rajasthan, circa 1903-1909gouache and bodycolour with gold on heavy paper, signed R. SAHAI STATE PAINTER ALWAR RAJPUTANA, six separate panels forming one painting 815 x 67.3 cm.; 26 feet 8½ in. by 26½ in.(6)Footnotes:ProvenanceFormerly the Estate of George McFadden, New York, 1980s.Following in the Mughal tradition of grand royal processions this 8-meter-long panorama depicts the full complement of participants and royal carriages associated with the traditional durbar of the Maharajas of Alwar.Maharaja Jai Singh is depicted in full regalia including his trademark prominent pearl collar and triple strand pearl and emerald necklace with a large diamond pendant. The absence of the Star of India would indicate that the scene is painted after his installation at the gaddi in 1903 at the age of 21 by Lord Curzon, but before his investiture as Knight Commander of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India in 1909. This is confirmed by the photograph captured by Bourne and Shepherd at the Coronation in Delhi in 1903 (fig. 1) showing Maharaja Jai Singh and Colonel Christopher Fagan (Assistant Political Agent and Consul to Alwar in 1901) together with four ministers from the Alwar court. The photograph reveals a remarkable likeness to the key figures of the procession. The faces of the Maharajah and the minister on the right in the photo matches the likeness of the two figures in the royal howdah. In adddition the three other ministers, with their distinctive faces and turbans can be seen on horseback following the Maharajah in the first and second row. The scale of the panorama and treatment of the prominent figures, horses, elephants, and carriages are rendered in fine detail that is clearly inspired by the celebrated artist Ghulam Ali Khan, who worked at the Alwar court for twelve years between 1840 and 1852 and completed a number of important illustrated manuscripts. A large cache of over 30 unrecorded paintings of his work are preserved in the Alwar State Museum and it is most likely that the 'state artists, R. Sahai' drew upon them for inspiration. This is particularly evident in the finer details of the principal figures, the interior of the Rath carriage, and the lanterns attached to the tusks of the Maharajah's elephant. Comparison can be made with a superb large scale architectural study of the white marble and red sandstone cenotaph of Raja Bakhtawar Singh at Alwar (see William Dalrymple and Yuthika Sharma, Princes and Painters in Mughal Delhi, 1707-1857, New York 2012, p. 48, fig. 11.) Other than the present lot there seems to be scant representation of Maharajah Jai Singh in painting. Even the artist, R. Sahai, has almost no other recorded works published or referenced. However, he, like many artists in the employ of Maharajahs in the early 20th century was quick to embrace the new medium of photography and create a hybrid style that allowed for a combination of fine detail on a scale that had been previously reserved for wall murals.The procession travels from the Maharajah's residence of Moti Doongri, shown in the second panel high on the hills as a white colonnaded edifice, and finishes at the city palace in the centre of town barely visible behind the grove of trees in the fourth panel. The artist has chosen to show the troops heading in the opposite direction to present the full extent of the procession, as well as highlighting the multiple buildings in the azure hills and verdant plains of Alwar. Barely discernible in the second panel from the left is a simple miniaturized procession in the foreground, which may have been added to illustrate the traditional route.The procession is led by the standard bearers mounted on three elephants holding the coat of arms and Alwar state flags. Then follows mounted infantry on camels and horses with cannons; three lines of four elephants led by musicians, ordinary mahouts and the small royal howdah; unmounted favoured horses of the court; horse-drawn royal howdahs; two royal sedans; regular infantry in blue and red coats; infantry bands; lancers; court attendants in purple tunics; Maharajah Jai Singh and his entourage; mounted dignitaries and ministers; royal elephant carriage (rath) and the horse-drawn Lanchester carriage with attendants; mounted lancers and rearguard with the state flag.A photograph recording a visit to Alwar in 1897 by Lord Elgin, the Viceroy, (fig. 2), shows the same celebrated rath double-decker state elephant carriage transporting a large group of Europeans with Jai Singh's father, Maharaja Mangal Singh Prabhakar. It is shown in the procession decorated in the same manner with skirting around the wheels and long embroidered cloths over the elephants with identical patterns. An album of photographs from December 1919 by Vernon & Co captured the wedding of Maharaja Jai Singh with many prominent dignitaries from other states in attendance. One image in particular shows him being transported in the same elaborate gold-plated repousse palanquin with rampant lions at the sides and the state coat of arms on the front panel (see Bonhams, 9th April 2008, lot 162).Additionally, recently restored film footage from 1938 entitled 'Indian Darbar' the procession by Jai Singh's successor, Maharaja Tej Singh, captured the scene in colour and shows the full troop in identical garb and the elephants with the same textiles. The narrator suggests that the procession to the Durbar occurred three times a year.The imposing hills in the background shows the various royal palaces, forts and hunting lodges, and the city of Alwar nestled behind the trees. R. Sahai incorporated the key architectural features of the region including the Bala Qila, the ancient fort set along a steep cliff and the Purjan Vihar, the densely walled garden before the city. The Moti Doongri or Lansdowne Palace, reputedly inspired by Scottish castles, which remains intact in this processional scene, was later demolished by Jai Singhe in favour of a even grander palace which in fact failed to materialize.Despite being highly regarded for his scholarship and a superb orator, salacious stories abound regarding Maharaja Jai Singh's decedent lifestyle and his love for motorcars. The infamous story of him using a fleet of six Rolls Royces for garbage collection around the city of Alwar after being insulted by the staff of the car marker's London showroom, seem to fit his flair for the outrageous. His love for hunting also involved motor cars, and he had a dozen long-wheelbase Hispano-Suizas modified with spotlights and revolving shooting chairs. Sadly, his pursuits of his person interests did not match his stewardship of state affairs. He emptied the state coffers on shikars (hunting expeditions) and on palaces, many of which he never occupied or even visited. As a result, he had to impose heavy taxes on his people to repay the loans that led to multiple agrarian uprisings and dented his popularity. Since he was unable to pay his taxes, the British Political Department installed F. V. Wylie as Prime Minister, removing Jai Singh's control of the treasury, that eventually lead to the Maharajah being forced into exile in 1933. He died in Paris in 1937 and his body was returned to Alwar for a subdued state funeral.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: ** VAT on imported items at a preferential rate of 5% on Hammer Price and the prevailing rate on Buyer's Premium.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Lot 50
A rare silver-mounted steel cutlass with the arms of the State of Oudh Lucknow, early 19th Century, the blade 17th Centurythe watered-steel blade of curved form, widening and becoming double-edged towards the tip, the flattened spine with two chiselled recesses and gold-inlaid inscription, the silver guard with coat of arms of Oudh on a ground of foliate interlace, the pommel in the form of a lion head, the knuckle-guard with floral vines, ray-skin grip, the lacquered wood scabbard with silver mounts decorated in repoussé with the coat of arms of Oudh, katars, floral vines and foliate interlace, two suspension loops to side 65.5 cm. longFootnotes:PublishedRobert Hales, Islamic and Oriental Arms and Armour, Farnham, 2013, p. 184, no. 437.Inscriptions: '038', possibly the date AH [1]038 (AD 1628-9).The paired fish is an ancient emblem representing happiness and utility as one of The Eight Auspicious Symbols of Buddhism. The coat of arms is a European device which was adopted by some Indian rulers, and in 1819 the court painter Robert Home designed the first Oudh coat of arms for the coronation Ghazi-ud-Din Haider Shah (reg. 1818-1827). This consisted of a lion and a tiger as the supporting animals but several variations were subsequently used, such as that on the present lot, until, during the reign of Wajid Ali Shah (reg. 1847-1856), the animals were replaced by a pair of mermaids. The shape of the blade derives from the short swords called nimcha carried by merchant sailors in the 16th and 17th Century.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Lot 72
A fine Mughal style gem-set gold dagger hilt Indiathe grips of curved flaring form with bifurcated pommel, the cross-guards of waisted form terminating in domed quillons, profusely inlaid to each side with rubies forming a scale design overlaid with emeralds of floral and foliate form, the sides of the grips with emerald bands, the ends of the quillons with diamonds, gold tested as 23 carat, in fitted box 14.8 cm. long; 344 g.Footnotes:ProvenanceThe Al Thani Collection. PublishedAmin Jaffer and Amina Taha-Hussein Okada, From the Great Mughals to the Maharajahs, Paris, 2017, pp. 268-9, no. 200.Tesori dei Moghul e Maharaja. La Collezione Al Thani, exh. cat., The Doge's Palace, Venice, 2018, p. 285, no. 196. Amin Jaffer (ed.), Treasures from the Al Thani Collection, vol. 1, Beijing, 2018, p. 301, no. 200.ExhibitedFrom the Great Mughals to the Maharajahs, Grand Palais, Paris, 29 March - 5 June, 2017.Treasures of the Mughals and the Maharajahs, The Doge's Palace, Venice, 9 September 2017 - 3 January 2018.Treasures from the Al Thani Collection, The Palace Museum, Beijing 2018, 17 April 2018 - 18 June 2018. Inspired by Mughal pieces of the 17th Century, when jewelled daggers were reserved for the emperor and imperial family as well as for gifts indicating royal favour, the present lot is exquisitely fashioned after the cloven-pommel type. Hilts of this type were probably originally formed of two separate pieces of nephrite or ivory, the grip plaques of which protruded, thus culminating in a split pommel. They may also have been inspired by 'eared-daggers', which originated in Spain. These kinds of bifurcated hilts first appear in paintings from the 1620s depicting the Mughal emperor Jahangir (r. 1605-27), who is himself shown wearing or receiving such a dagger, for example in the Padshanamah (Folsach, Meyer and Wandel, Fighting, Hunting, Impressing: Arms and Armour from the Islamic World, 1500-1850, Denmark, 2021, p.236). An example of this kind of hilt can be found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (1984.332), forming part of a dagger that belongs to a group of jewelled gold objects likely made in the court workshops of Jahangir (D. G. Alexander, Islamic Arms and Armour in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 2015, pp. 206-207). A further example is within the British Museum (2001,0521.35).For two more examples see S. Kaoukji, Precious Indian Weapons and other Princely Accoutrement, London, 2017, pp. 130-137, cat. 41 and 42. The intricate, imbricated design of the ruby gem settings combined with emerald accents is also reminiscent of the decoration on a 16th/17th Century staff handle found in the same publication, cat. 174.Lot to be sold without reserve.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Lot 77
A large and impressive panoramic view of the city of Lahore Punjab, Lahore, circa 1840-45watercolour with some gold on paper, 11 separate joined sheets of paper, identifying inscriptions in Persian on painted surface, in mount, framed 24 x 235 cm.Footnotes:The two peaks of Lahore's fortune as a great city were first under the early Mughal emperors, until the death of Aurangzeb, when it was adorned with palaces, gardens and tombs; and second, the period of Maharajah Ranjit Singh, the acme of Sikh power, from his triumphant entrance into the city in 1799 and the establishment of his regime, to the collapse of Sikh rule in the years after his death, and British control of the Punjab. Between those two events it had been captured twice, first by the Persian Nadir Shah, in his catastrophic invasion of India in 1739, and then again by the Afghan Ahmad Shah Durrani.In 1831 the British political officer and traveller, Alexander Burnes, capturing something of the ancient nature of the city, and its various layers of history, wrote:On the morning of June 18th we made our public entrance into the Imperial city of Lahore, which once rivalled Delhi. We moved among its ruins [...] In our evening at Lahore, we had many opportunities of viewing this city. The ancient capital extended from east to west for a distance of five miles, and an average breadth of three, as may yet be traced by the ruins. The mosques and tombs, which have been more stably built than the houses, remain in the midst of fields and cultivation as caravanserais for the travellers. The modern city occupies the western angle of the ancient capital, and is encircled by a strong wall. The houses are very lofty, and the streets, which are narrow, offensively filthy, from a gutter that passes through the centre. (Travels into Bokhara, London 1834).The city was first of all drawn by various European artists, including Frances ('Fanny') Eden (1801-1841), sister of the more famous Emily Eden, who recorded sketching it in her diary for December 1838 (so roughly contemporary with our painting). However, the European doctor, Martin Honigberger, who was in Lahore at the Sikh court between 1829 and 1833, and then again between 1839 to 1849, recorded that he sold a panorama of Lahore by an Indian artist to the Russian painter Prince Alexis Soltykoff. Honigberger apparently took home similar paintings, since in his illustrated memoir Thirty-Five Years in the East (1852) he included lithograph views based on them (see F. S. Aijazuddin, Lahore: Illustrated Views of the 19th Century, 1991, pp. 48-49, no. 15). Woodcut versions, apparently derived from such paintings, but in a much more naive style, were also being produced in the latter half of the 19th Century: for an example, see F. S. Aijazuddin, op. cit., 1991, pp. 84-85, no. 39. At a similar date, panoramas of Delhi, and other highly detailed topographical studies of the city, were being produced by artists such as Mazhar Ali Khan, at the tail end of Mughal power, and Mughal art (for which see J. P. Losty, 'Depicting Delhi: Mazhar Ali Khan, Thomas Metcalfe, and the Topographical School of Delhi Artists', in W. Dalrymple, Y. Sharma (edd.), Princes and Painters in Mughal Delhi 1707-1857, New York 2012, pp. 52-59.)For another example of such a panorama, see Christie's, Arts of India, 10th June 2015, lot 101 (previously at Sotheby's, Exotica: East Meets West, 1500-1900, 25th May 2005, lot 139), which appeared in the exhibition Interaction of Cultures: Indian and Western Paintings 1780-1910, The Fine Arts Museum of San Francisco, 1998, cat. no. 71 (pp. 278-80). For a smaller example from a similar viewpoint, see Christie's, Art of the Islamic and Indian World, 4th October 2012, lot 221.An example of similar size with both English and Persian inscriptions is in the Singh Toor Collection: for a good discussion, along with a survey of the locations and buildings depicted, see D. Singh Toor, In Pursuit of Empire: Treasures from the Toor Collection of Sikh Art, London 2018, pp. 96-101.The monuments identified identified in the inscriptions include (ten have not been fully deciphered):The Shah's tower.The Tower of Rajah Ranjit Singh, construction of which began in 1839, not completed until 1851.The Shah's Tower of Yakki Gate.The Royal (Padshahi) Samman Tower.The Black Gate.The Gate of Light (Roshnai Gate) (illuminated at night).The White (Jasmine) Gate of Jawahir Singh Jiv.The Masti Gate.The Kashmiri Gate (facing in the direction of Kashmir).The Khizri Gate.The Royal (Padshahi) Mosque.The Old Mosque.The Mosque of Vazir Khan.The Hazuri Garden. The Mazhar 'Ali small garden.The Royal Summerhouse.The Sleeping quarter.The Large Sleeping quarter.The Mansion of [...] Nau Nihal Singh Jiv.The Mansion of Sardar Thij [?] Singh.The Mansion of the officer of the army, Khoshhal Singh.The Mansion of Sardar Ahlu Waliyah [?]. The Mansion of Sardar [...] Singh.The Arsenal [?] of Mazhar 'Ali.The Akbari District.The Akbari stable.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Lot 80
Edwin Lord Weeks (American, 1849-1903) The Golden Temple, Amritsaroil on canvas, signed and inscribed Golden Temple Amritsar lower left 51.5 x 76.5 cm.Footnotes:Weeks visited the Golden Temple at Amritsar on at least one of his expeditions to India, the best documented of which was in 1893. Of the island temple and its surrounds, Weeks wrote: From the border of the tank, which lies in the afternoon shadow, the Golden Temple gives one the impression of a glittering jewel, or of some rare old Byzantine casket wrought in enamel and studded with gems. Small and compact, glowing with colour and scintillating with light, its mirrored image reaching far down into the purple depths of reflected sky, it has at first sight a glamour of unreality, like an opium vision of De Quincey, or the 'pleasure dome of Kubla Khan'. Two colours predominate, the gold of the upper part and the clustered domes, and the white marble of its base, toned and softened by the faint colour of its inlaid flowers; the curtained doors and windows add flashes of scarlet [...] and the great baskets of the flower-sellers heaped high with roses and other flowers, among which great masses of odorous yellow jasmine predominate, add a note of yellow and orange, recalling the colour of the temple. (E. L. Weeks, From the Black Sea Through Persia and India (1896), pp. 186-188). Weeks was sufficiently impressed by the Golden Temple that he returned to the subject on several occasions and executed works in a number of formats, from simple grisaille illustrations to one of his most monumental paintings (measuring 213.4 by 302.3 cm.), taken from the same perspective as the present work. It is unclear if the present painting predates or postdates that monumental version, but it seems clear they are generally contemporary.With its foreground diagonal composition, its deft handling of shadow and light – particularly the harsh, unforgiving sun of India - and its distinct combination of precise draughtsmanship and loose, painterly style, the present painting is entirely characteristic of Weeks' work. It is a beautiful and important work from the artist's last period of Indian paintings. The authenticity of this work has been confirmed by Edward S. Levin, and a letter of authenticity will accompany the lot. The work is also to be included in the artist's catalogue raisonné.We are grateful to Edward S. Levin for his assistance in compiling this catalogue entry.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Lot 85
A jade and gold-koftgari steel inlaid chess board North India, 19th Centuryof square form on four ball feet, the spinach jade and brown hardstone board set within a steel frame decorated in gold overlay with an undulating floral vine, the squares inlaid with mother of pearl flowerheads, purple velvet backing; the pieces carved in green and brown hardstone with silver finials the board 45.3 x 45.3 cm.(33)Footnotes:The history of chess can largely be divided into three periods, originating in India with the ancient Hindu game of Chaturanga, followed by the medieval Shatranj and concluding with the modern game as we now know it, which first emerged at the beginning of the 16th Century. From the start of the 19th Century, there was a large demand for decorative chess sets, commissioned by Western traders from Indian exporters. Inlaid flowers, stars, arabesques and figures often feature on Indian chessboards, as demonstrated by the floral motifs in this example. For further discussion see V. Keats, Chessmen for Collectors, London, 1985. An example of a 19th Century Indian jade chess table can be found in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (48.174.70).For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Lot 86
A group of glass replicas of historic diamonds including the Koh-i-noor in its former and current state Europe, first half of the 20th Centurycomprising fourteen glass diamonds, one blue, in fitted case, each with printed label, the box with retailers label to front for 'Jos. H. Lehmann, Jeweler, Portland, Ore.' the case 28 x 18.3 x 4.3 cm. Footnotes:The replicas include the Grand-Mogul, Orloff, Regent, Grand Duke of Tuscany, Star of the South, Koh-i-noor (old cut), Koh-i-noor (new cut), Shah, Piggot, Nassack, Sancy, Pasha of Egypt, Blue and the Polar Star.Replica gem sets of this kind were created for diamond promotion purposes and for gemmological education. The present set contains a replica of the famous Koh-i-noor (Mountain of Light) diamond. The stone is known to have been in the possession of Mughal emperors, including Shah Jahan, where it was set into his Peacock Throne. The name was given to the stone by the Persian ruler Nadir Shah after he captured Delhi in 1739 and it soon came to symbolise supreme power in the region. The Koh-i-noor later became the possession of Queen Victoria following the Treaty of Lahore, after which time it was re-cut by Prince Albert, resulting in the loss of 40% of the stone's weight. Both the original and the re-cut versions of the diamond are replicated in this set. For further discussion on the stone, see D. Toor, In Pursuit of Empire: Treasures from the Toor Collection of Sikh Art, London, 2018.For a similar replica gem set sold in these rooms, see Bonhams Islamic and Indian Art, 25 October 2021, lot 336.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Lot 149
JAMES WALTER TIPTAFT BIRMINGHAM SILVER PRESENTATION TROPHY CUP - circa 1940, 13ozt off the base, hallmarks extremely rubbed, 28.5cms overall H, engraved to the front 'Crosville Club Llandudno Junction, The Arthur Wright Pool Cup', the base with numerous engraved winners' names, the first being G Joinson dated 1940
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