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Lot 295
Patrick Leigh Fermor, 'Three Letters from the Andes' first edition signed hardback book with dust jacket and 'Between the Woods and the Water' 2nd Print signed'Three Letters from the Andes In very good condition, the dust jacket with some minor blemishes along the top edge and fading to the spine.Between the Woods: in very good condition, the dust jacket showing some wear to the edges, corners, the back and a bit shabby. 5th printing.Both dust jackets retain their price, the author has crossed out his printed name and signed below.WE TAKE GREAT CARE in the accuracy of our condition reports and may record damage and restoration if obvious. The information is provided in good faith along with detailed photographs where requested and is for guidance only. However, this does not imply that there may not be further condition issues associated with the lot and we DO NOT provide any guarantee to the buyer.WE STRONGLY ADVISE BIDDERS TO EXAMINE PERSONALLY ANY LOT THEY ARE INTERESTED IN BEFORE THE AUCTION.
Lot 3465
Great Britain and World, a large collection of miscellaneous coins to include 2012 Britannia 1oz Fine Silver £2, a reproduction silver proof 1551 crown, 2016 commemorative half crown, 2011 Bailiwick of Jersey Lifetime of Service £5, 2012 London Olympics Sports Collection Table Tennis 50p, The Queen Elzabeth II Golden Jubilee Collection, British Monarchs 1837 to Date, Whitmans Sixpence Collection 1937 - No. 9690 (incomplete), Britians First Decimals Coins wallet, Cook Islands 2013 HRH Prince George of Cambridge $5, cased with certificate, a defaced 2015 £2, Bailiwick of Jersey 2012 RMS Titanic £5, a reproduction WW I Princess Mary Christmas gift tin containing various Geo VI / E.R. II half crowns and various other loose commemorative crowns etc.
Lot 3376
Great Britain and World, a collection of miscellaneous coins to include GB Victorian and later threepences, commemorative crowns, Britain's First Decimal Coins wallet, Canada 1895 5 cents, Luxembourg 1870 10 centimes, Argentina 1896 2 centavos, Brazil 1901 200 reis and France 1934 20 francs etc.
Lot 3280
United Kingdom, a collection of brilliant uncirculated coins to include 2017 The Platinum Wedding Anniversary £20 Fine Silver Coin, 2016 The Christmas Nativity Scene £20 Fine Silver Coin, 2009 Henry VIII £5, 2012 Queen's Diamond Jubilee £5, 2017 Shine Through The Ages £5, 2016 The Last 'Round Pound' £1, 2012 The Official Olympic £5, 2009 Big Ben Celebrates It's 150th Anniversary £5, 2012 Olympic Games Blue Peter 50p, 2012 Hand Over To Rio £2, 2009, 2010 & 2012 Countdown to London £5 and various First Day Coin Covers etc. (23)
Lot 3418
The Centenary of the First World War, Five pound coin three coin boxed set (Isle of Man) together with an Legacy of Egypt gold plated medal, a selection of Westminster coins Sydney Opera House 10 dollar coin, The anniversary of Nelson 25 Ecus, Guernsey silver proof one pound coin, Barbados silver one dollar, gold plated Westminster Abbey. (Qty)
Lot 3410
United Kingdom, Last Sterling & First Decimal British Coins, twelve coins in red leather case, together with a large collection of World coins to include France 1910 2 francs, 1917 1 franc & 1916 50 centimes, New Zealand 1933 sixpence & 1937 florin. Italy 1914 2 lira & 1918 20 cent, Yugoslavia 1925 1 dinar, South Africa 1937 2 1/2 shilling and Australia 1943 shilling etc.
Lot 3394
Great Britain and World, a collection of miscellaneous coins to include GB part filled Whitman folder 9682 (2) 9681 (2), Britains first decimal coinage, Gibraltar coinage (Wallet), Netherlands silver Guilder 1955, George II farthing, Victorian quarter Anna 1881 and further circulated world coinage.
Lot 282
A group of seven Gill, Somerset, and Page £5 banknotes To include LZ27 527347, with a thin security thread; a further note 1987 RB22 274138, with a thick security thread; 1980 Somerset note DU55 447140, with the cashier signature missing; a further error note CN75 402461, from August 1973, with an offset litho-printed small 'l' to the reverse; another similar note; and a note from the first series A14 996150Qty: 7
Lot 144
Austro-Daimler A fine cast bronze model of a First World War period six-cylinder push-rod overhead-valve aero-engine, the model detailed including twin magnetos with gearbox, two carburettors, push rods, tappets and exhaust manifold, mounted on six crankcase supports from the pale green calcite stand, with engraved manufacturers brass label inscribed "OEST. DAIMLER MOTOREN A.G11cm x 19cm
Lot 113
A bronze medal by Adolfo Pieroni in tribute to the representative of Italians in Alexandria Italy, 1865of circular form, a bust of Giovanni Bruno to one side, the verso with inscription, with fitted case 6.5 cm. diam.Footnotes:Inscriptions: verso, All'egregio cittadino che con senno e integrità singolare primo rappresentò in Egitto l'Italia libera e una. Gl'Italiani d'Alessandria riconoscenti, 'The Italians in Alexandria are grateful to the esteemed citizen, who with wisdom and singular integrity was the first to represent a unified and free Italy in Egypt'; recto, Commendatore Giovanni Domenico Bruno, A. Pieroni F. nel 1865, 'Commander Giovanni Domenico Bruno, A. Pieroni F. in 1865.'A medal of this type is in the Museo Nazionale Romano, Rome (Catalogo generale dei Beni Culturali, No. 1200567054).For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Lot 132
A rare manuscript report on the secret alliance between Tipu Sultan and the nawabs of the Carnatic, signed by the author N. B. Edmonstone (1765-1841) as Persian translator to the government of Bengal Fort William, Calcutta, dated 6th April 1800manuscript on watermarked paper, written in a neat secretarial hand, 42 bifolia tied through single hole with silk thread, paginated 1-81 (final leaf blank), folio, 325 x 215 mm.together with: a manuscript minute on the proposed changes to army regulations following the Vellore Mutiny, by John Cradock Howden, 1st Baron, 1759-1839, signed by Howden as commander-in-chief at Madras, dated Madras, 28th March 1807, written in a neat secretarial hand, 12 bifolia (21 pages) tied through single hole with silk thread, watermarked Turner & Sons, 1800, unpaginated folio, 325 x 210 mm.(2)Footnotes:Provenance [the first report] William P. Wreden Books & Manuscripts, Palo Alto, California (his invoice addressed to the below, dated 30th September 1964).Dr Frank Novak, from 1964.The Edmonstone document is a manuscript copy of the report to the government of Bengal on the cache of correspondence between Tipu Sultan and his ministers which was found at Seringapatam after the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War (1798-9) and believed to reveal a secret alliance between Tipu Sultan and two successive nawabs of the Carnatic, Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah (1717-1795) and Umdat al-Umara (1748-1801), who were notionally allied with the British. The findings were used to compel Umdat al-Umara's successor Azim ud-Daula to sign the Carnatic Treaty, which ceded control to the British. The report was published as part of Governor-General Richard Wellesley's official account in Papers presented to the House of Commons from the East India Company, concerning the late Nabob of the Carnatic (London, 1802, volume 1, section A, enclosure c, pp. 4-18). Edmonstone was appointed chief secretary to the government of India in 1809.Among the most significant passages are these:Among the records of the late Tippoo Sultaun's Government discovered in the palace at Seringapatam, has been found a very voluminous correspondence between the Sultaun and his Vakeel Ghulam Ali Khan and Ali Rezza Khan, who accompanied the hostages delivered by Tippoo Sultaun at the termination of the war in 1792, to Madras. From this correspondence a numbers of papers have been selected, of which the tendency is, to fix a charge upon his late Highness the Nabob Maulah? Jah of a breach of the alliance subsisting between his Highness and the Honourable Company, to implicate the present Nabob.... ul Amrah, as a party therein, and to establish a similar charge against the latter after his accession to the M...d. From the contents of those papers the following facts may be collected. (pp. 1-2).That the objects of the proposed connexion were of a nature subversive of the Alliance between the Nabob and the Company, and directly hostile to the British Interests in India. (p. 52).pp. 79-81 It yet remains to be observed that, while Tippoo Sultaun (as we have now discovered) was endeavouring by Emissaries, by correspondence by every means in his power to conciliate the Alliance of every State in India, for purposes hostile to the British Nation in India, it is not probable, that he would respect any attempt to contract an Alliance with a Musulman Prince, who like the Nabob of the Carnatic, might have it in his power to be of the most essential service to his views in the event of hostilities between him and the Company, and it is not perhaps going too far to suppose that when (as appears by the printed translations of documents found at Seringapatam) Tippoo Sultaun proposed the landing of the French troops which he expected at Porto Novo...pp. 81-82 If to all the circumstances, inferences and arguments herein detailed, be added the perverse (not to say hostile) conduct of the Nabob ... ool Umra towards the British Government during the late war, the whole constitutes a body of powerful proof, that His Highness had connected himself for several years with Tippoo Sultaun, by ties of interest, and community of views, subversive of the fundamental principles of Alliance between him and the Company in the season of Peace, and absolutely hostile to the British Nation in that of war, and that, had the opportunity arrived, he would have openly supported the cause of Tippoo Sultaun, and the Musulman interests against that of the Company.The second reportCradock, Lord Howden, was appointed commander in chief of the Company's army in December 1803, during which time there was a mutiny at Vellore. The rules governing the army were undergoing changes and codification, and in this minute he argues that this will be detrimental to morale. However, he was recalled (as was the Governor-General, William Bentinck) as a result of the new rules, and the mutiny.Passages of note are as follows:'the dangerous consequences that would result from the extensive reduction now established of the influence of the Commander in Chief on military appointments'; these problems take place 'at the most fearful period, in which the world was ever placed' [i.e. war with France].'It will be acknowledged, I believe, by every Military Man, that Regimental Promotions in an army is the object of every officer's hopes and fears; that whatever acts upon that view, upon which his mind is ever fixed, will chiefly excite his emotions, his obedience, respect, and gratitude. Give this power, or withhold it, from the Officer Commanding in any army, and his exaltation or depression is the exact consequence.''It will be in vain to invite to 'Discipline', good order and efficiency, through the penalties of punishment alone, if unaccompanied on the other hand by the Allurements of Interest or Gratification'.'Is it left to a Civil person to determine who shall command at Dover Castle or Landguard Fort, or Speke Island, or the [...] of the Shannon, and that it is only when the enemy arrive at the gates that it is thought necessary to take the appointment with military consideration. The reverse of the existing arrangement is the case in England, Ireland and every military command [...] as no usage supports the present arrangement.''...it is such an overthrow of all the established discharge of function, so fixed by prescription, and so inalienable in imagination, that I see not the power, how a man of military feeling can remain, or accept the situation'.However, 'Government must be considered supreme in the disposition of the troops'.'If this be the case, if it is added to a thousandfold by an existing war with France, can reason approve that the distribution of the army should be taken out of the province of the Commander in Chief, and passed over altogether to the President of Fort St George, however accomplished his character may be as a statesman'.'The extreme convulsion in the military system, arrived at a period, both of general and domestic consideration, the least favourable for innovation, at a time, both of the world, and of India'.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Lot 171
The gate of the Red Fort, Agra Company School, North India, early 19th Centurypencil and watercolour with bodycolour on paper laid down on card, inscribed lower centre in Persian and English 433 x 758 mm.Footnotes:ProvenanceChristie's, Travel, Science and Natural History, 25th April 2012, lot 210.The Persian inscription reads: hatiya pol darvazeh qala'ah agra, 'The Hatiya Pol [Hathi Pol] Gate of the Fort of Agra'.The English: Fort of Agra.The fort originally belonged to the Lodhi dynasty before it was captured by Babur, the first Mughal Emperor (reg. 1526-30). His successor and son Humayun was crowned there in 1530. It was not until Akbar's reign (1556-1605) that Agra became the capital of the Empire, at which time the fort was rebuilt in red sandstone, completed in 1573. During the reign of Shah Jahan, many of the fort's marble palaces were built when the Emperor remodelled the three main courtyards, finally finishing this process in 1637. It was there in the Shah Burj that Shah Jahan was to spend the last eight years of his life held captive by his son Aurangzeb.The city of Agra was captured from the Marathas by the British in 1803, who greatly admired the Mughal buildings of Agra, Sikandra and Fatehpur Sikri. The Union Flag (or an approximation of it) flying above the gate in our painting presumably reflects this occupation.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Lot 206
D. Ross, The Land of the Five Rivers and Sindh: Sketches Historical and Descriptive London, Chapman & Hall, 1883pp. 309, blue cloth gilt, 230 x 150 mm.; and E. B. Eastwick, Murray's Handbook of the Panjab, Western Rajputana, Kashmir and Upper Sindh, London, John Murray, 1883, pp. 327, one folding map (of Sindh), red cloth, 52 pages of contemporary advertisements, 178 x 125 mm.; and R. C. Temple, A Dissertation on the Proper Names of Panjabis, with special reference to the Proper Names of Villagers in the eastern Panjab, Bombay 1883, pp. 176, inscribed With the author's compliments, black morocco, 220 x 145 mm.; and C. U. Aitchison, A Collection of Treaties, Engagements and Sanads, relating to India and Neighbouring Countries, vol. I (relating to the Punjab, the Punjab States and Delhi), Calcutta 1931, pp. 359, brown cloth 260 x 185 mm.(4)Footnotes:Ross, a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, writes in his preface: 'My object in publishing these 'Sketches' is to furnish travellers passing through Sindh and the Punjab with a short historical and descriptive account of the country and places of interest between Karachi, Multan, Lahore, Peshawar and Delhi'.The first section of Murray's Handbook begins with advice on dress for travellers, as well as diet and health, passing on to tables of British Governors, rulers of the Punjab and principal events in its history, the Sikh Gurus, Ranjit Singh and his family, and the rulers of Kashmir. After this it deals with 'objects of interest' in the Punjab, its tribes, the Sindhi and Punjabi languages, and ends with long lists of Punjabi and Sindhi vocabulary, and exemplary dialogues (sample: 'I want a palanquin'; 'Torch-bearer, run a little before me'). Section II deals lists itineraries and points of interest along the way.Captain R. C. Temple was an officer of the Bengal Staff Corps, as well as a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society, and was also Cantonment Magistrate of Ambala, Punjab.C. U. Aitchison was Under-Secretary to the Government of India in the Foreign Department. The books lists the terms of treaties and agreements between the British and the states of the Punjab, ranging from the very earliest examples with Ranjit Singh at Lahore in the early 19th Century, through hill states such as Hindur and Baghal later in the 19th Century; then long sections relating to e.g. Patiala, Bahawalpur, Jind, Nabha, Kapurthala, and Hindu states such as Chamba and Suket, ending, remarkably, with treaties between the Company and the Mughal Emperor in the 1760s.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: •• Zero rated for VAT, no VAT will be added to the Hammer Price or the Buyer's Premium.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Lot 156
A Rajput ruler, perhaps Maharao Mukund Singh of Kotah (reg. 1648-58), standing holding a flower Mewar, circa 1675-1700gouache and gold on paper, red and yellow borders 230 x 118 mm.Footnotes:ProvenancePrivate UK collection.Mukund Singh was the eldest son of Madho Singh (the first official ruler of Kotah), and was confirmed in his position by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan. Mukund Singh fought several battles alongside Mughal forces, eventually losing his life at the Battle of Dharmat. Not many portraits of him exist: our painting strongly resembles a drawing of him, circa 1650-1700, in the Fogg Art Museum, Cambridge, Mass. (see S. C. Welch, Gods, Kings and Tigers: the Art of Kotah, New York 1997, pp. 42-43, fig. 4, and the discussion there).For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Lot 143A
A gem-set gilt-silver hilted steel dagger (khanjar) India, 19th/ 20th Centurythe double-edged steel blade of slightly curved form with armour piercing tip, the silver-gilt hilt of pistol-grip form profusely inlaid with gemstones including emeralds and rubies, the pommel with floral motifs, traces of enamel, the wood scabbard clad in red velvet with silver-gilt mounts decorated ensuite with gemstones including emeralds, rubies and diamonds 38.3 cm. longFootnotes:ProvenanceThe Mohammed Khalil Collection.PublishedM. K. Ibrahim, Islamic Arms and Armour, Vol. II, United Arab Emirates, 2022, p. 670, cat. no. 485.This form of dagger appears to have become popular at the start of the 18th Century, having first emerged in India circa 1650. The type is depicted in miniatures from the period, such as an example from the mid-18th Century sold in these rooms depicting the Emperor Muhammad Shah receiving four courtiers, in which the figure on the far right bears a gem-set khanjar within his patka (see Bonhams, Islamic and Indian Art, 5 April 2011, lot 243).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 126
An impressive Mughal ivory-inlaid wood cabinet depicting European figures Western India, early 17th centuryof rectangular form with fifteen drawers, a hinged brass handle to either side, profusely decorated with ivory and dyed-green ivory inlay, the drawer fronts with scenes of European and Indian figures hunting various animals including tigers, all on a foliate ground, the top and sides with central lobed cartouche containing flowerheads on a ground of split palmette interlace, surrounded by a border of foliate scrollwork with rosettes, the back with a cartouche containing foliate scrollwork interspersed by rosettes, surrounded by borders of further foliate scrollwork and rosettes, with later Persian white metal mounts engraved and decorated with pairs of seated figures on a foliate ground with perching birds 79.9 x 35.8 x 36.3 cm.Footnotes:ProvenanceDr. Caro Owen Minasian Collection, acquired in the 1940s, and thence by descent.The present lot is a large and outstanding example from a small group of ivory-inlaid cabinets depicting European figures. They can be identified by their western costumes, which stand out from those of their Indian counterparts, and are characterised by voluminous trousers and rounded caps. The figure on the present lot was identified in a hand written note by Dr. Caro Minasian as Sir Thomas Roe (1581-1644), the first English ambassador to the court of the Mughal Emperor Jahangir (r. 1605-1627) between 1616 and 1619. Indeed, the clothes represented are comparable to those worn by Sir Thomas Roe in a Mughal painting in the British Museum, London, dated circa 1616, depicting him in attendance as Jahangir invests a courtier with a robe of honour (Museum Number 1933,0610,0.1). Furthermore, the style of the cabinet would point towards a date of production at around the time that Sir Thomas was in India. Today, his journal entries, notes and correspondence, compiled in The Embassy of Sir Thomas Roe, are considered valuable first hand accounts of the court of Emperor Jahangir. For further details and discussion of Sir Thomas Roe's time at the Mughal Court, see Colin Paul Mitchell, Sir Thomas Roe and the Mughal Empire, Karachi, 2000. This type of ivory-inlaid furniture is believed to have originated in Western India, more specifically in Gujarat and Sindh (see Amin Jaffer, Luxury Goods from India, The Art of the Indian Cabinet Maker, London, 2002). Intricately crafted chests and cabinets such as these appealed to both local and foreign tastes, with documents and miniatures recording Mughal rulers with European-style furniture, including a 17th century portrait of Rustam Khan in the Chester Beatty library (Jorge Flores and Nuno Vassallo e Silva (eds.), Goa and The Great Mughal, exhibition catalogue, Lisbon, 2004, pp. 111-115).An example of a box featuring European figures is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (inv. no 2000.301). A further ivory-inlaid cabinet, the top half of which is of very similar form to ours, in the Museu Nacional De Arte Antiga, features European figures hunting on horseback (inv. no. 1312 Mov). In these examples, as in ours, the figures are depicted hunting in scenes emulating those of Persian and Indian paintings. For a smaller ivory-inlaid cabinet featuring European figures sold at Sotheby's, see Art of the Islamic World, 20 April 2016, lot 139. The dense foliate ground on our cabinet is also a fine example of its type, and comparable to that found on a cabinet in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (IM 16-1931).Dr. Caro Owen Minasian (1897-1973) was an Armenian physician and collector. Having attended the English College in Isfahan, he went on to study medicine at the Universities of London, Edinburgh, and Lausanne. Throughout his lifetime Dr. Minasian amassed an extensive collection of Armenian, Persian, and Near Eastern books and manuscripts.The item within this lot containing ivory has been registered in accordance with the Ivory Act (Section 10), reference no. NVKEC9P4.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: Y ФY Subject to CITES regulations when exporting items outside of the UK, see clause 13.Ф This lot contains or is made of ivory and cannot be imported into the USA or any country within the EU.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Lot 187
Four illustrations from a Janamsakhi manuscript, a life of Guru Nanak Provincial Mughal, probably Murshidabad, late 18th Centurygouache on paper, green and red borders 175 x 117 mm.(4)Footnotes:ProvenancePrivate UK collection: acquired at Hamilton's, Calcutta, in 1973, by a relative of the current owners.The Janamsakhis (literally, 'life stories') were first compiled in the 17th Century, in various different versions. They consist of collections of anecdotes or tales (sakhi), not always in any particular order, and also include quotations from the Adi Granth as well as other apocryphal sayings of the Guru.They naturally lent themselves to illustration (though images were also produced as paintings in themselves, divorced from any text). For example, an almost complete Janamsakhi manuscript produced in Kabul, Afghanistan, dated 1797, with 538 leaves and 71 stories, had 106 illustrations, of various sizes, and was described as the most richly-decorated example known. Fifteen of these stories dealt with Guru Nanak's life before he received divine inspiration; the remainder dealt with his missionary journeys, in which he travelled throughout India and elsewhere for twenty-four years, spreading his message. See Sam Fogg, Indian Paintings and Manuscripts, London 1999, p. 128, no. 83.It has not been possible to identify the exact stories portrayed in our four paintings, though it appears that Guru Nanak is depicted at both a relatively young age, with the full black beard and red hat with upturned brim in which he is seen in other paintings, as in the examples at auction given below; but also as a mendicant or fakir-like figure.See P. M. Taylor, S. Dhami (edd.), Sikh Art from the Kapany Collection, Palo Alto 2017, pp. 99-115, for a discussion of the Janamsakhi and the portrayal of Guru Nanak's life. For a variety of paintings portraying Guru Nanak and images from Janamsakhi manuscripts, see P. M. Taylor (ed.), Splendors of Punjab Heritage: Art from the Khanuja Family Collection, 2022, pp. 32-43, esp. p. 43. For a discussion of Janamsakhi texts in general, see C. Shackle, Catalogue of the Panjabi and Sindhi Manuscripts in the India Office Library, London 1977, pp. 19-23.See the sale in these rooms, Islamic and Indian Art, 2nd October 2012, lot 206, for a group of four similar Janamsakhi illustrations (also acquired from Hamilton's, in 1967). For other paintings from a Janamsakhi series in a similar style, see Christie's, Islamic and Indian Manuscripts and Works on Paper, 23rd April 2012, lot 319 and 320.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Lot 70
David Roberts RA (British, 1796-1864) The Tombs of the Mamelukes, Cairo pencil, watercolour and bodycolour on paper, signed, dated and inscribed 'Cairo Dec 30 1838 Tombs of the Mamelukes', lower right 32.1 x 23.3 cm.Footnotes:ProvenanceProperty from a Princely Collection, acquired at Sotheby's, Important British Watercolours, 5 June 2008, lot 270.For another view of the same subject, see Christie's, Old Masters Part II: Paintings, Sculpture, Drawings and Watercolours, 3rd July 2024, lot 273.David Roberts was in Egypt from September 1838 until February 1839 before travelling on to Palestine and the Lebanon. He returned to London in July of that year having filled three sketchbooks and executed over 270 drawings. He worked these up into a set of finished watercolours which were published as a set of lithographs between 1842 and 1849. The view here was published as a lithograph in Egypt and Nubia, London 1846-49, vol. III, plate 97, with the title Tombs of the Caliphs, Cairo: The Citadel in the Distance. It shows the Northern Cemetery with its principal monuments, the minaret and dome of the mosque-tomb of Sultan Qaytbay, completed in 1474.He visited the site for the first time on 23rd December 1838, recording in his journal:The singular beauty of this scene cannot fail to strike the observer: the form and enrichment of the dome, and the elegance of the minaret of the principal mosque, that of the Sultan Kaitbey, the square masses of such parts of the structure as are not yet in ruins, combine with the other mosques and the citadel in the background to complete a composition of objects almost without rival for the picturesque effect which, in this point of view, they produce.On Christmas Eve he wrote: 'This is a city unequalled in the world for the picturesque and it is hitherto untrodden ground.' Then on 1st January 1839 he wrote: 'No one in looking over my Sketches will ever think of the pain and trouble I have had to contend with in collecting them. Well, so long as they add to the general knowledge already acquired of the various styles of architecture existing in different ages... I am well satisfied'.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Lot 9
An illuminated Qur'an section Persia, 16th CenturyArabic manuscript on paper, 14 leaves, 13 lines to the page, first and last lines on each page written in larger muhaqqaq script in blue, and the seventh line written in gold, the remainder of the text in smaller naskhi script in black ink with diacritics and vowel points in black, verse-endings marked with gold roundels, inner margins ruled in gold, blue and green, illuminated marginal devices, sura headings written in naskhi script in white within illuminated panels, modern binding with stamped central medallions 232 x 165 mm.Footnotes:The section comprises part of juz' XXVII, including: Qur'an, sura LI, al-Dharyiat, verses 8-to the end; sura LII, al-Tur (with an illuminated heading); sura LIII, al-Najm (with an illuminated heading); sura LIV, al-Qamar, verses 1-part of 4; [folio missing]; sura LIV, al-Qmar, parts of verse 34 to the end; sura LV, al-Rahman; sura LVI, al-Waqi'ah; sura LVII, al-Hadid, verses 1-the middle of verse 21.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries, e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of works of particular origins. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) and Syrian origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid on or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: • R• Zero rated for VAT, no VAT will be added to the Hammer Price or the Buyer's Premium.R This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Lot 80
An Iznik rimless pottery 'grape dish' Turkey, circa 1570-80of shallow rounded form on a short foot, decorated in cobalt blue, green and black on a white ground with a central roundel containing three large bunches of grapes within spiralling tendrils issuing fleshy leaves, a band of alternating stylised palmette motifs to the cavetto, with a narrow zig-zag border, the exterior with vegetal motifs 29.1 cm. diam.Footnotes:ProvenancePrivate UK collection. The design of Iznik grape dishes is derived from Chinese Yuan and Ming blue and white porcelain ware produced in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Following Sultan Selim I's conquests of Tabriz in 1514, and of Damascus and Cairo in 1517, large quantities of Chinese porcelain and celadons were acquired to adorn the court rooms. As a result, Iznik potters had access to a wide spectrum of designs they had not encountered before, the grape design being one of the most frequently imitated models. Iznik potters emulated the designs of these grape dishes, but also adapted them, resulting in a wide variety of interpretations. Comparison can be made with a dish dated to circa 1530, sold in these rooms (Bonhams, Islamic and Indian Art, 28 April 2005, lot 422), which illustrates how closely the Iznik potters copied Chinese porcelain when they first encountered it. As time passed, the potters broke away from that initial imitation and introduced new ideas resulting in distinctive and individual pieces. The present lot epitomises this, abandoning the Chinese 'breaking wave' rim and instead incorporating a band of stylised palmettes.For further discussion, and examples of comparable rimless dishes, see Atasoy and Raby, Iznik: The Pottery of Ottoman Turkey, London, 1989, pp. 121-4, cat. nos. 189-192. For two rimless Iznik grape dishes sold in these rooms, see Bonhams, Islamic and Indian Art, 24 April 2012, lot 103 & 104. For further comparable examples sold at Christie's, see Christie's, Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds Including Oriental Rugs and Carpets, 28 October 2020, lot 115 & Art of the Islamic & Indian Worlds, 7 April 2011, lot 306.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 173
Nineteen small portraits of Timurid and Mughal rulers, possibly commissioned by the French Resident Colonel Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Gentil (1726–1799) while serving at the court of Nawab Shuja ud-Daula in Oudh Oudh, probably Faizabad, circa 1774-75pencil and gouache on paper laid down on card, identifying inscriptions in ink in a European hand, the nineteen circular paintings laid down on card covered with gold leaf and framed together paintings: the largest 46 mm. diam., the remainder 39 mm. diam.; frame 235 mm. diam.Footnotes:The nineteen portraits here appear to be closely related to likenesses used to illustrate Gentil's Abrégé historique des souverains de l'Indoustan ou Empire Mogol (History of the rulers of Hindustan or the Mughal Empire) completed in 1772. They are the work of a single artist, who has depicted the first eight rulers in the dynasty (up to and including Akbar) in three-quarter profile and the remaining eleven side-on. In this latter group (as well as with Akbar's portrait), we see a direct stylistic connection with those that appear in Abrégé historique. Additionally, the spellings of the emperors' names largely match those found in both Abrégé historique and a separate album of twenty paintings of Mughal emperors compiled by Gentil.Each of the rulers in the set is identified with an inscription in a French hand (perhaps that of Gentil himself). They present an almost unbroken list of the Timurid-Mughal sovereigns of India beginning with Timur and ending with Shah Alam II. They are as follows:Tamerlan 1: Timur/Tamerlane (reg. 1370–1405)Mirancha: Miran ShahSultan Mahmoud: Sultan Muhammad MirzaAboussaid: Sultan Abu Sa'id Mirza (reg. 1452–19)Omarchek: Umar Shaykh Mirza (reg. 1469–94)Babourcha: Babur (reg. 1494–1530)Oumahioun: Humayun (reg. 1530–40, 1555–56)Akbar: Akbar (reg. 1556–1605)Djehanjuir: Jahangir (reg. 1605–27)Chadjehan: Shah Jahan (reg. 1627–58)Alemguir 1er: Aurangzab, Alamgir I (reg. 1658–1707)Bahadourcha: Bahadur Shah, Shah Alam I (reg. 1707–12)Mouiezeaudin: Muiz ud-Din Muhammad, Jahandar Shah (reg. 1712–13)Rafioderdjat: Rafi ud-Darajat (reg. 1719)Rafioul daula, Chadjehan 2: Mirza Rafi ud-Daulah, Shah Jahan II (reg. 1719)Mametcha: Muhammad Shah (reg. 1719–48)Ametcha: Ahmad Shah (reg. 1748–54)Alemguir 2: 'Alamgir II (reg. 1754–59)Chaalem 2: Shah Alam II (reg. 1760–1806)Gentil was a French military officer who served in the French East India Company (or Compagnie des Indes Orientales), and spent nearly twenty-six years in India after his arrival in Pondicherry in 1752. Gentil went on to live in Hyderabad, Bengal and then Awadh, where he served Nawab Shuja ud-Daula as an adviser. Gentil was awarded with the title of French Resident of the court at Awadh and served in a military, political and strategic capacity until the death of Shuja ud-Daula in 1775. Following a three-year stint in West Bengal, Gentil eventually returned to France in 1778, though he was recalled to service to act as interpreter to Tipu Sultan's embassy to Versailles in 1787.Like Antoine Polier and Claude Martin, Gentil was one of several European military advisors and connoisseurs closely connected with the court of Nawab Shuja ud-Daula in Awadh. He had a keen interest in the cultures, religions, customs and architecture of the people of India, and established a private atelier employing several Indian artists to help illustrate this. He also collected numerous Indian and Persian miniatures and paintings in what would now be called Company style. At the time of his return to France, his collection comprised more than fourteen albums, as well as over a hundred Persian, Arabic and Sanskrit manuscripts on law, poetry and calligraphy, as well as numerous individual paintings. Presented to Louis XVI for the Royal Library, the Gentil collection today forms the core of the South Asian Collection in the Cabinet des Estampes of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France in Paris today.The Victoria and Albert Museum has an album put together by Gentil with 58 pages of paintings by various artists including Nevasi Lal and Mohan Singh, produced in Faizabad in 1774. To quote Archer, it 'contains a collection of drawings depicting the manners and customs of the people of India [...] and appears to be a compilation of Gentil's library of books in Faizabad, now scattered. It is clear that Gentil supervised and designed the album himself, dividing the pages into rectangles, some of which he faintly inscribed in pencil with the names of the subjects which he wanted the artists to include'. See M. Archer, Company Paintings, London 1992, p. 117ff., no. 89: especially to be noted are figs. 89(16) and (20), p. 120, showing figures, both Indian and British, drawn in a similar style.For a rare copy of one of Gentil's manuscripts, see Christie's, Paris, 22nd October 2013, Bibliotheque de Ducs de Luynes, Chateau Dampierre, lot 527: Abrégé historique des Souverains de l'Indoustan ou Empire Mogol– 1772 – à Faizabad par M. Gentil, Faizabad, 1773, with illustrations of Shah Alam II, a map of the provinces of Hindustan, with 238 pages.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Lot 108
Five Qajar lacquer pen boxes (qalamdans) Persia, late 19th Centuryeach with rounded ends and sliding tray, variously decorated in polychrome and gilt with figural scenes and portraits the largest 23 cm. long(5)Footnotes:ProvenanceThe first and second: Sotheby's, Islamic Works of Art, 30 April 1998, lot 612.The fourth: Sotheby's, Oriental Miniatures & Manuscripts, Antiquities, Islamic & Indian Art, 18 October 1996, lot 154.The fifth: Sotheby's, Islamic Works of Art, 30 April 1998, lot 611.The first decorated in polychrome and gilt with figural scenes, the base of outer case and sides of inner tray with landscapes on a black ground, 21.6 cm. long.The second decorated in polychrome and gilt with pastoral scenes, 23.1 cm. long.The third decorated in polychrome and gilt with cartouches containing scenes of Mother and Child, interspersed by roundels containing portraits of Europeans and Persians, the base of outer case and sides of inner tray with foliate interlace on a red ground, 22.2 cm. long.The fourth decorated in polychrome and gilt with cartouches containing figural scenes interspersed by roundels containing portraits, the base of outer case with floral scrollwork on a red ground, the sides of inner tray with floral sprays on a red ground, 22.9 cm. long.The fifth with cartouches containing scenes of bearded men and a youth, interspersed by roundels containing portraits of women, 22.6 cm. long.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries, e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of works of particular origins. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) and Syrian origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid on or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: RR This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Lot 13
A fine illuminated Qur'an Kashmir, first quarter of the 19th CenturyArabic and Persian manuscript on paper, 540 leaves, 10 lines to the page written in naskhi script in black ink with diacritics and vowel points in black, interlinear Persian translation in small nasta'liq script in red, interlinear rules in gold, inner margins ruled in blue and gold, verse-endings marked by gold roundels, extensive commentaries written diagonally in nasta'liq and naskhi script in black and orange in wide outer margins throughout, sura headings written in riqa' script in blue or white on a gold ground within illuminated panels, one double-page illuminated frontispiece in colours and gold, followed by an illuminated headpiece at the beginning of sura II, al-Baqarah, closing double-page illuminated finispiece, contemporary Kashmiri painted lacquer binding, inside covers with attractive stylised cypress trees 305 x 200 mm.Footnotes:ProvenancePerhaps formerly in the personal library of Prince Farhad Mirza.Private UK collection.The extensive marginal commentaries are on the meaning of phrases in nasta'liq in black on each part of the Qur'an (which are written in orange-red in naskhi), ending with quotations from the Jawahir al-tafsir of Kamal al-Din Husayn Wa'iz Kashifi (d. AH 910/AD 1504-06), and also giving the date of its composition, in a poem by his son, in abjad, as AH 892/AD 1486-87. There is an entry note to a personal library dated Shawwal 1243/AD August-September 1827, as well as a note by the Qajar Prince Farhad Mirza, dated Tuesday 8 Muharram 1302/28th October 1884, who also wrote two couplets quoted from Amir 'Alishir Nava'i, the contemporary of Husayn Wa'iz Kashifi. He mentions the date 2nd Shawwal 899/6th July 1494 which may be date of the composition of Jawahir al-tafsir.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: •• Zero rated for VAT, no VAT will be added to the Hammer Price or the Buyer's Premium.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Lot 78
An Ottoman silver and gold-damascened steel leg guard (greave) Turkey, 15th/ 16th Centuryof typical form, engraved and overlaid in silver with split palmette interlace within borders of vegetal designs to the central section, above an inscription, the side panels with further vegetal designs, the central section bearing the tamga of the Ottoman Arsenal of Hagia Eirene 42.8 cm. longFootnotes:ProvenanceCzerny's, Fine Antique Arms and Armour: The K. De Clercq Collection and other properties, 29 March 2014, lot 174.The Mohammed Khalil Collection.PublishedM. K. Ibrahim, Islamic Arms and Armour, Vol. I, United Arab Emirates, 2022, p. 291, cat. no. 280.Inscriptions: al-awwal al-a ..., 'The first ...'The inscription on the present lot is typical of those found on leg guards of this period, commonly consisting of single letters or parts of words. A similar greave is in The Furusiyya Art Foundation Collection (see Bashir Mohamed, The Arts of the Muslim Knight, the Furusiyya Art Foundation Collection, 2007, p. 306, no. 294). A further pair of comparable leg defences is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Accession No. 36.25.457; 1990.229).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 188
Max Arthur Macauliffe, The Sikh Religion: its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors, in six volumes Oxford, 1909six volumes, approximately 350-450 pp. per volume, 22 monochrome lithographed plates across all six volumes, nine photographs of religious buildings and people, anonymous inscriptions dated Calcutta, between 10th September and 1st November 1927, blue cloth 220 x 145 mm.(6)Footnotes:ProvenanceInscriptions dated Calcutta, September-November 1927.Formerly in the Library of Bonebrake Theological Seminary, Trotwood, Ohio (embossed and ink stamps), its name between 1909 and 1954.The six volumes of The Sikh Religion are an impressive achievement, as a feat of writing, of comprehensiveness, and of sheer ability to gather material, both historical and textual. It has remained in print since its publication in 1909 and is the most cited text on the Sikh religion in English.A summary of the contents is as follows:Vol. I, pp. 383, Guru Nanak, his life and writings.Vol. II, pp. 351, the lives and hymns of the second, third and fourth Gurus.Vol. III, pp. 444, the life of Guru Arjan, the fifth Guru, and his hymns, photograph of his shrine.Vol. IV, pp. 421, the lives of the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth Gurus, and the hymns of the ninth, Guru Teg Bahadur, photograph of the Akal Bunga, and the Baba Atal tower, Amritsar. Vol. V, pp. 351, the life of Guru Gobind Singh, the tenth Guru, his compositions, his stance against idolatry, his epistle to the Emperor Aurangzeb, discussion of the musical measures of his hymns, photographs of the shrine at Fatagarh, Muktsar, the temple at Nander, and an Akali.Vol. VI, pp. 453, various religious texts, including the Bhagats of the Granth Sahib, the life and hymns of Jaidev, and of Namdev, Kabir, and Rav Das, photograph of Namdev's shrine at Ghuman, and of two Sikh holy men, index.The Preface opens: 'I bring from the East what is practically an unknown religion'. While, crucially, presenting the newness and distinctness of Guru Nanak and the Sikh religion, Macauliffe also made connections and drew analogies between it and Western religion and philosophy. In a lecture given in Paris, he stated that he was 'not without hope that when enlightened nations become acquainted with the merits of the Sikh religion, they will not willingly let it perish in the great abyss in which so many creeds have been engulfed'. His translation of the Guru Granth Sahib was the first to be accepted by the Sikh community. He had begun to publish parts of his work as he went along as early as 1897, and in 1900 his partial translation of Sikh scripture was published as Holy Writings of Sikhs, in which he had been assisted by Pratap Singh Giani, a Sikh scholar. He also acknowledges in his preface his debt to the Rajah of Nabha, Sir Rajinder Singh, the late Maharajah of Patiala, Rajah Ranbir Singh, the Rajah of Jind, and Sardar Ranjit Singh of Chichrauli. The Rajah of Nabha, in particular, for instance, 'has at considerable expense caused the thirty-one Indian rags, or musical measures, to which the hymns of the Gurus were composed, to be written out in European musical notation by a professional musician whom he employed for the purpose' (preface, p. xxvi). But it was to be sixteen years from his resignation from the Civil Service until the final publication of his magnum opus.For a good account of Macauliffe's work and career, see Harbans Lal, 'The Western Gateway to Sikhism: the life and works of Max Arthur Macauliffe', in K. Brown, Sikh Art and Literature, London 1999, pp. 129-142.Max Arthur Macauliffe (1841-1913)Macauliffe was born in Limerick, Ireland, and was educated at Queen's College, Galway. He joined the Indian Civil Service in 1862 and was posted to the Punjab in 1864, becoming a deputy commissioner at Ferozpur in 1882 and a divisional judge in the same district in 1884. Born a Protestant, he converted to the Sikh religion (while not adopting its external signifiers) and resigned his position in the ICS in 1893. At the time he was derided by his employers for having 'turned a Sikh'. He lived at Amritsar and soon became deeply interested in the Sikh religion. Between 1875 and 1881 he published four articles on Sikhism in the Calcutta Review and had begun to learn the languages of the Guru Granth Sahib.The India Office had commissioned a German missionary and scholar, Dr Ernest Trumpp, who had learned Arabic, Sanskrit, Hindi and Sindhi, to translate the Granth into English, but the partial translation (Trumpp had given up after seven years in despair), which appeared in 1877, was unacceptable, indeed offensive, to many Sikhs. Macauliffe undertook a new translation with the encouragement of Sikh scholars and other figures in the community. He received finanical assistance from Rajah Bikram Singh of Faridkot, as well as Rajah Hira Singh of Nabha, Maharajah Rajinder Singh of Patiala, Rajah Ranbir Singh of Jind, amongst others. Though he saw his labours as serving the political interests of the Sikhs, he by no means saw them as anti-imperial. He saw the Sikhs as potential allies for the British, in a pamphlet with the significant title A lecture on the Sikh religion and its advantages to the state.He employed gianis (professional interpreters of the Sikh scriptures) to help him. In an unprecedented decision, Macauliffe asked that the completed work be scrutinised by a committee of Sikh scriptural scholars, who suggested various emendations and gave it their seal of approval, both linguistic and theological. As well as translating the Granth, he decided to include biographies of the ten gurus of Sikhism and of the Bhagats, the Sant poets whose works also appear in the Granth. When he completed his work, he moved to England, accompanied by his great friend and adviser, Bhai Kahn Singh, the celebrated Sikh scholar, who helped him correct the proofs of his book. In 1909 the Clarendon Press, Oxford, published Macauliffe's The Sikh Religion. Macauliffe, who was unmarried, died in West Kensington, London, on 15 March 1913. His personal assistant remarked in his memoirs that on his death bed, MacAuliffe could be heard reciting the Sikh morning prayer, Japji Sahib, ten minutes before he died. The Sikh Educational Conference passed a vote of condolence and the Sikhs of Rawalpindi set up a Macauliffe Memorial Society to raise funds to establish a library in his memory, but the amount collected was insufficient. Among those who subscribed, and sent a letter of support, was the Lieutenant-Governor of the Punjab, Sir Michael O'Dwyer. The money was eventually given to Khalsa College, Amritsar, to fund an annual Macauliffe Memorial Medal for the best student in Sikh theology and history. The medal is still awarded on an occasional basis. (Partially adapated from the Dictionary of Irish Biography).For a fine and rare copy of Macauliffe's text, presented by the author to the Duke of Connaught in the year of publication, see the sale in these rooms, Bonhams, Islamic and Indian Art, 21st May 2024, lot 195.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: •• Zero rated for VAT, no VAT will be added to the Hammer Price or the Buyer's Premium.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Lot 15
A lithograph text of Firdausi's Shahnama in Urdu, with 21 illustrations, translated from Persian by Mul Chand Munshi North India, Lucknow, second half of the 19th CenturyUrdu lithographed text, incomplete, 82 leaves, text written in four columns, decorative monochrome frontispiece and headpiece, 21 half- and three-quarter-page illustrations, modern binding 280 x 190 mm.Footnotes:The translation from Persian was made by Mul Chand Munshi, with the addition of praise of the Mughal Emperor Akbar II (reg. 1806-37) in the first chapter, which reflects the date of the original composition. Mul Chand's version was apparently first printed in Delhi in 1883, and then again in 1887.There are also handwritten notes stating that the book's owner is Muhammad Nasir al-Din, and that it was bought from Munshi 'Abd al-Karim Khan, with the date 18th May 1908 (Western date).This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: •• Zero rated for VAT, no VAT will be added to the Hammer Price or the Buyer's Premium.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Lot 130
A brass shield possibly from the armoury of Hyder Ali (d. 1782) South India, 18th Centuryof circular convex form with upturned rim and applied central ring, mounted with four bosses, engraved and decorated with a central rosette surrounded by concentric bands of geometric and vegetal motifs and an inscription in Kannada, the bosses with rosettes, four suspension loops to reverse. 31.9 cm. diam.Footnotes:Inscriptions: ಹೆ || ಕೂಡ್ಲಿಗಿಹಿ ||, Hai//KodligihiThe inscription on the present lot is in Kannada, in a style dating to the 18th/ 19th century, and bears a similarity to those found on arms and armour from the Mysore Palace armoury with the Sri Krishna, for Maharaja Krishna Raja Wadiyar III (1794-1868). Krishna Raja Wodeyar III was the twenty second Maharaja of Mysore who ruled for nearly seventy years and took inventory of the armoury, marking the pieces with serial numbers and labels. These were proceeded by his name, 'Sri Krishna'. An example of a dagger with the Sri Krishna is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Accession No. 2022.464a, b). The style of the inscription on our shield is very similar, and indicates that it was almost certainly part of the Mysore Palace armoury. The word Kodhligihi may derive from Kodli, meaning axe or hatchet, and could be the name given to the shield by the Maharaja. The 'hai' preceding this is found, often in Farsi, on other weapons associated with Hyder Ali in the Mysore Armoury. It has therefore been suggested that the inclusion of 'hai' on the present lot indicates that the shield was in the armoury of Hyder Ali, Tipu Sultan, and later Maharaja Krishna Raja Wodeyar III, who marked the piece with the inscription.Hyder Ali (c. 1720 – 7 December 1782) was a soldier who rose through the ranks of the Mysore army to the point where he was able to establish himself as de facto ruler by 1761, usurping the brothers Nanjaraj and Devraj in 1752. He fought against the British East India Company during the First and Second Anglo–Mysore Wars, and was the innovator of military use of the iron-cased Mysorean rockets. His eldest son and successor was the 'Tiger of Mysore', Tipu Sultan.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Lot 146
An impressive repoussé gold casket Sri Lanka, Probably Kandy, 19th/ 20th Centuryof rectangular form with curved ends and hinged lid with central domed section, profusely engraved and decorated in repoussé, the domed lid with a central lobed cartouche flanked by roundels containing a sun and a moon with a hare, with a simha to either end, above and below four serapendiya beasts, the domed section surrounded by a border of petals, the sides of the casket with elephants, double-headed birds (bherunda pakshaya) and makaras, all on a ground of dense foliate and floral scrollwork, the base engraved with a central roundel containing five stylised interlacing hamsa birds, surrounded by four deer and two forest nymph (nari-lata) figures amongst a nari-lati-vela design, marked 'LAO' for London Assay Office and '916' for 22 karat gold 34.1 x 15.5 x 10.2 cm.; 2518 g.Footnotes:ProvenancePrivate UK collection. The present casket is an extremely fine and large example of Kandyan metalwork, the decoration of which is remarkable for its intricacy, covering every surface of the casket and incorporating numerous Sri Lankan decorative motifs. The kingdom of Kandy was a monarchy established in the late 15th century and enduring until the 19th century, covering the central and eastern parts of the Island. Under this Kingdom, the city of Kandy was the last capital of the Sinhalese monarchy. Sinhalese craftsmanship flourished in the Kandyan districts and, following the British occupation in 1815, The Kandyan Art Association was founded in 1882 in order to revitalise traditional Kandyan arts and crafts.Many traditional Sri Lankan design elements are featured on our casket. The first notable inclusions are those of the sun and moon. A. K. Coomaraswamy notes that these are both among the magul-lakunu (auspicious symbols), and that in painted decoration the sun always features a human face, and the moon includes the figure of a hare, as on the present lot (A. K. Coomaraswamy, Mediaeval Sinhalese Art, 1956, p. 81). An example of painted decoration featuring the humanoid sun is illustrated in the same publication (Pl. XVI). The moon and the hare is often found on vihara walls, and can be seen in the architectural decoration of the the Temple of the Tooth (Sri Dalada Maligawa) in Kandy, which features a moon and rabbit sculptural relief. The iconography stems from the legend of the Hare and the Moon, in which a hare offers itself as food in sacrifice to Sakra disguised as a Brahmin, for which Sakra rewarded him by painting his figure on the moon. The humanoid sun and moon are also featured on the flag of the Sabaragamuwa Province, introduced in 1987.The double-headed bird motifs on the sides of the casket are known as the Bherunda Pakshaya, a motif popular in European heraldry which was adopted in Ceylon via early Dutch or Portuguese contact. They are found on temples such as the Buddhist Temple of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. This motif is also used in a lock plate illustrated in A. K. Coomaraswamy, Mediaeval Sinhalese Art, 1956, p. 196, Fog. 104. Also illustrated in the same publication is the base of a brass heppuva, betel box, which features interlacing hamsa motifs similar to those found on the base of our casket (op. cit. p. 202, Fig. 123). A further tray in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, features a central roundel with three intertwined hamsas (IM.124-1926), and also incorporates elephants, as seen in the present lot. Another important Sri Lankan symbol, the simha, is featured prominently on the lid of our casket, bookending the sun and moon. The lion is the mythical ancestor of the Sinhalese, representing power, majesty and dignity, and features on the national flag of Sri Lanka. Completing the motifs on the lid is the serapendiya, also known as gurulupakshaya, a beast with the head of a lion and the body of a bird, which are most commonly found depicted in metalwork and ivory objects (op. Cit., p. 83), such as in a 17th Century jewel casket in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (Accession No. 2022.386). The jewel casket also includes similar nari-lata figures within its decoration to those on the base of the present lot, the nari-lata-vela being a mythical vine whose flowers take the form of a woman, as well as comparable bands of petals and intricate foliate scrollwork. In this way, the present casket follows a long history of artistry, showcasing an intricate and detailed map of traditional Sinhalese design elements that results in a tour de force of Sri Lankan craftsmanship.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Lot 75
A 'Veneto-Saracenic' silver-inlaid bronze bucket bearing the coat of arms of two noble families Venice, 16th Centuryof waisted cylindrical form on a short foot with everted rim, profusely engraved and decorated in silver inlay with two coats of arms, four roundels containing portraits, and floral motifs all on a ground of dense foliate interlace and scrollwork, the base with central roundel containing a flowerhead surrounded by foliate interlace and scrollwork, with zoomorphic handle 23 cm. diam.Footnotes:The present lot is from a group of metalwork whose origin has been the subject of much scholarly debate, and which was previously categorised as 'Veneto-Saracenic'. This label derived from the 19th Century belief that these objects were created by Muslim craftsmen working in Venice, a notion that was first questioned in the 1970s, especially because the Venetian guild system would not have tolerated foreign craftsmen. Recent scholarship indicates that many were in fact exported to Europe from Egypt and Syria and subsequently imitated by local craftsmen. The Mamluks (1250-1517) became the middlemen in the spice trade and transportation of goods between Europe and South and Southeast Asia, with Venice becoming their main European trading partner. As such, a wide variety of goods and objects flowed between the two areas, influencing Venetian tastes, and resulting in both the production of metalwork specifically for export for the Venetian market as well as the development of Mamluk-inspired metalwork created in Europe.Sylvia Auld divides the extant 'Veneto-Saracenic' examples into three sub-categories: the first group (Group A) being typically Mamluk and made in either Egypt or Syria; the second group (Group B) relating to Mahmud al-Kurdi and his circle; and the third group (Group C), to which the present lot belongs, made in Europe, probably Italy, emulating Levantine originals (see Sylvia Auld, Renaissance Venice, Islam and Mahmud the Kurd: A Metalworking Enigma, London, 2004, p. 8). The influence of export wares on the present lot is evident when compared to a bucket signed by Mahmud al-Kurdi sold at Christie's, Art of the Islamic and Indian Worlds Including Oriental Rugs and Carpets, 1 April 2021, lot 10. Both are comprised of a deep rounded form on a flat foot and feature very similar zoomorphic handles. A further comparable example is in the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe, Hamburg (inv. no. 1878 739). Though probably inspired by objects of this kind, the present lot is more sinuous in its design, incorporating scrolling classicised arabesques as found in pieces assigned to Auld's Group C. A salver in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (inv. no. 258-1894) features comparable arabesques and is described by Auld as 'a prime example of a Western craftsman working in 'Islamic' mode' (Auld, p. 236, no. 5.28). A candlestick, also in the Victoria and Albert Museum (inv. no. 553-1865), features similar strapwork over a foliate ground, and is assigned by Auld to Group C (Auld, p. 2621, no. 6.26).The present lot also bears two crests belonging to noble families. The first, a shield depicting three dolphins, probably belongs to the Dolfin family, a prominent noble family of Venice, and one of the twelve original noble lineages of the Republic, or 'apostolic families'. The second, a shield bearing a heraldic stripe, may belong to the Giustiniani or Sagredo family. A dish featuring the coats of arms of the Venier and Molin families, illustrated in Auld (p. 8, pl. 1), appears to mark a marriage between the two families. The presence of crests on our bucket, combined with portraits, indicates that it is possible the bucket was made in celebration of a marriage between members of the Dolfin and Giustiniani or Sagredo families.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: †† VAT at the prevailing rate on Hammer Price and Buyer's Premium.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Lot 52
A Nishapur buffware pottery bowl Persia, 10th Centuryof deep rounded form on a short foot, decorated in yellow, green and manganese on a buff ground with a mounted warrior, a fallen figure on the ground below, surrounded by quadrupeds and mythical creatures interspersed by vegetal motifs and pseudo kufic inscriptions, the exterior with a band of stylised leaf motifs 22.6 cm. diam.Footnotes:ProvenancePrivate UK collection, acquired at Christie's, Islamic Art and Manuscripts, 15 October 2002, lot 203.This kind of buffware pottery first came to light in the 1930s following excavations at Nishapur, and contrasted greatly with the restrained colours and use of empty space within the previously known epigraphic wares from the area. Nishapur was not the only centre of production for these types of wares, however it appears to have produced the widest range of designs (Oliver Watson, Ceramics from Islamic Lands, London, 2004, p. 247). An example featuring a warrior on horseback is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (C.294-1987). For a further example sold in these rooms, see Bonhams, Islamic and Indian Art, 6 October 2015, lot 27.Important Notice to BuyersSome countries, e.g., the US, prohibit or restrict the purchase by its citizens (wherever located) and/or the import of certain types of works of particular origins. As a convenience to buyers, Bonhams has marked with the symbol R all lots of Iranian (Persian) and Syrian origin. It is each buyer's responsibility to ensure that they do not bid on or import a lot in contravention of the sanctions or trade embargoes that apply to them.This lot is subject to the following lot symbols: RR This lot is subject to import restrictions when shipped to the United States.For further information on this lot please visit Bonhams.com
Lot 182
A scene from a Ramayana series (the 'Second' Guler Ramayana), depicting Vibhishana, younger brother of the demon king Ravana, together with a retinue of demons bearing gifts, in audience with Rama, the monkey army standing round about Guler, circa 1790-1800gouache and gold on paper, gold-decorated blue floral inner border, flecked pink outer border 255 x 358 mm.Footnotes:ProvenancePrivate collection, Germany.This painting is an illustration from the series known as the 'second' Guler Ramayana, attributed to the first generation of artists after Manaku and Nainsukh. The first section of the series is referred to by W. G. Archer as the Kangra Ramayana series, and is dated circa 1775-1780 (and also as the 'Bharany' Ramayana). This comprises illustrations from the first three books of the Ramayana. Our painting belongs to the second section of the series, comprising illustrations from Books Five and Six, and specifically to Book Six, the Yuddhakanda or the Book of War. Goswamy and Fischer date this second section to circa 1790 and list known paintings belonging to it (M.C. Beach, E. Fischer, B.N. Goswamy (ed.), Masters of Indian Painting 1650-1900, Zurich, 2011, p. 690).For other depictions of the figure of Vibhishana see, for example: Sotheby's New York, Indian and Southeast Asian Works of Art, 21st March 2012, lot 210, depicting Vibhishana bowing before Rama, surrounded by the monkey and bear army, with the fortress of Lanka in the background).In a quieter scene, depicting Sagara (personification of the ocean) appearing before Rama and others, see Sotheby's New York, Important Indian Miniatures from the Paul F. Walter Collection, 14th November 2002, lot 84.Other examples from this series have appeared at auction: particular comparison can be made with the following:Christie's, Arts of India, 12th June 2018, lot 26 (depicting Rama, Lakhshmana and Sita at the hermitage of Bharadvaja).Bonhams, New York, Indian, Himalayan and Southeast Asian Art, 11th September 2012, lot 89 (Rama and Lakhshmana conferring with the monkey army while other monkeys are in combat with the demon army).Sotheby's New York, Important Indian Paintings from the Gloria Katz and Willard Huyck Collection, 22nd March 2002, lots 59 and 60 (Guler or Kangra, circa 1790; the trees and branches carried by the monkeys are prominent - hints of Birnam Wood come to Dunsinane - and the decoration on the demon chariots is very similar).Sotheby's New York, Indian and Southeast Asian Works of Art, 20th March 2013, lot 319 (Rama and Lakhshmana wounded by the arrow of Indrajit).Sotheby's New York, Indian and Southeast Asian Art, 19th September 1996, lot 185 (the monkey army beginning their assault on Lanka under the direction of Rama).Sotheby's, Oriental Manuscripts and Miniatures, 23rd April 1997, lot 149 (Hanuman conducting a reconnaissance of the fortress of Lanka).Sotheby Parke Bernet, New York, Fine Oriental Miniatures, Manuscripts, Islamic Works of Art, and 19th Century Paintings, 14th December 1979, lot 225 (there attributed to Garwhal, circa 1800).Another painting from the series is in the LA County Museum of Art, illustrated in R. C. Craven, Ramayana: Pahari Paintings, Bombay 1990, pp. 98-99, fig. 8. Other pages are also found in the Mittal Collection, Shimla Museum, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.For other pages from the this series see: B. N. Goswamy and E. Fischer, Pahari Masters, Delhi 1997, nos. 143-145, pp. 340-343; D. J. Ehnbom, Indian Miniatures: the Ehrenfeld Collection, New York 1985, nos. 116-118; S. Kossak, Indian Court Painting, 16th-19th Century, New York 1997, no. 62.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 48
Two Boer War/First World War medals from the Wolpert family of Yorkshire, comprising a Queen's South Africa Medal with three bars Driefontein, Paardeberg and Relief of Kimberley, named to 3937 Serjt. G.H. Wolpert 1st Yorkshire Regiment, and a First World War Victory Medal named to 3-8553 Pte. G.H. Wolpert Yorkshire Regiment. (2)
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