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Parcel-Gilt Silver Pomander with Rose-cut
Diamonds, Sapphires & Malachite
West India or Sri Lanka (Ceylon)
19th century
Inventory no.: 746
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Exceptionally Fine Chased Silver Tray (Thali)
Deccan, India
17th or 18th century
Provenance: Lockwood de Forest
Inventory no.: 1095
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Silver Belt with Red Stone & Inscription (Araipatti)
18th century (engraved and dated 1882 with the remark that it has been
in a 'Mahommedan' family for 200 years)
India
Inventory no.: 1098
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Silver Emblem & Arms of Mohammed Wajed ‘Ali Shah, the Nawab of Oudh (Awadh)
Lucknow, India
1847-1856
Inventory no.: 1263
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Unusual Chased & Parcel Gilded Silver Water Flask (Surahi)
Lucknow, India
circa 1880
Inventory no.: 1294
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From where do we source our items? We do not go on buying trips to Asia. Nor do we actively buy from dealers or suppliers based in Asia. We do not source
items from India itself for example. Almost all the items stocked by Michael Backman Ltd have been sourced from the UK - from old collections. Countless items
were brought to the UK during the colonial era by colonial administrators and the like. Other items were made in Asia for export to the UK – the UK was wealthy
early: it has been a major destination for the world’s exports for hundreds of years. This means that most of our items have been in the UK for at least sixty to two
hundred years.
The conditions in which they have been kept often has been very good – the climate is kind, and there are relatively few pests. Many items were acquired as
keepsakes and curios, meaning that they stopped being used once they came to the UK. This too has helped to preserve them and their conditions often are far
better than had they remained in their home countries. Buying from old UK sources means that the items have good provenance; it helps to avoid fakes, and
items that have been amended or embellished. It also means that our items are obtained legally – today, most countries in Asia prohibit the export of their
antiques. So, because of its colonial past, the UK is perhaps the world’s biggest source of genuine antiques from Asia, perhaps more so than Asia itself, and that
is the source into which we tap.
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