ewer;
garniture
- Museum number
- OA+.2645.1-2
- Description
-
Ewers, pair; mother of pearl, brass, silver. Construction method: Internal brass reinforcing bands overlaid with mother-of-pearl plaques, secured with silver pins. Made from plaques of the marine snail 'Turbo marmoratus'; each ewer with curved spout, pedestal foot and scrolled handle.The exterior plaques are shaped and arranged in a lozenge pattern above lappets; the remaining plaques are rectangular. On the interior, the plaques are rectangular; the plaques forming the bottom of the body are of geometric shape and arranged in a petal motif around a central disc. Underneath the foot a valve of a 'P. margaritifera' shell is fitted. Each ewer marked 'FB' underneath. One with repairs and replacement of plaques on handle; the other with an inset repair at the handle, probably the location of a round finial.
- Production date
- 17thC(early)
- Dimensions
-
Height: 250 millimetres
- Curator's comments
- Part of a garniture with a pair of candlesticks (OA+2643, 1-2), one basin (OA+2644), one bottle (OA+ 2642). Each section of the garniture marked underneath 'FB'.
For commentary on Gujarati mother-of-pearl work made for the export market, see: Jaffer, A., 'Luxury Goods from India', Victoria and Albert Museum Publications, 2002, cat. nos. 5, 11-14. For a comparable set in the V&A of a pair of ewers and a pair of basins, see cat. no. 11
( 4282-1857; 4283-1857; 4257-1857; 4258-1857).
For another examples of this form, see: 'Exotica: The Portuguese Discoveries and the Renaissance Kunstkammer', exh. cat., Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Lisbon, 2001-2002, cat. no. 26, pp. 123-4 and references.
See also:
British Museum Magazine, Number 55, Summer 2006, p15
The British Museum Technical Research Bulletin, Vol. 1, 2007, pp1-8
Also Sothebys 24 April 2013 lot 222 for rare kendi in this type which mentions Oa 2642. DFT
- Location
- On display (G33/dc64a/s1)
- Condition
- Good. Mastic and repairs appear stable.
- Department
- Middle East
- Registration number
- OA+.2645.1-2
