Michael Backman Ltd
Hindu & Other Non-Islamic Indian Art
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Click here to see Indian Colonial Silver, here to see Indian Mughal Silver, & here to see
Hindu & Jain Indian bronzes.
Highly Unusual Terracotta Krishna Head
India
19th century
Inventory no.: 248
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Fourteen Silver Lingam Boxes (Ayigalu)
South India
18th-19th centuries
Inventory no.: 250
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40 Bronze Body Stamps (Chhapa)
Orissa and Bengal
18th and 19th centuries
Inventory no.: 222
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Painted Wooden Dowry Box (Jautuk Pedi)
Orissa, India
circa 1900
Inventory no.: 249
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Brass & Copper Pichkari  (Syringe Pump for the Hindi Festival of Holi)
Rajasthan, India
late 18th century
Inventory no.: 450
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Brass Offering Dish (Katora)
Northern India
19th century
Inventory no.: 233
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Tantric Hindu Copper Water Vessel
India
19th-20th century
Inventory no.: 478
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Pair of Indian Silver Anklets
India (probably Rajasthan)
early 20th century
Inventory no.: 255
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Betel Cutter
Orissa, India
19th century
Inventory no.: 237
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Four Jamnagar ‘Gulab’ Betel Cutters
Jamnagar, India, but collected in Java, Indonesia
19th-20th century
Inventory no.: 226
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Bronze Yali Finial
Southern India
18th-19th century
Inventory no.: 694
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Two Silver Amulet Plaques
Rajasthan, India
late 19th - early 20th century
Inventory no.: 711
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Silver & Wood Aubergine-Form Kohl Container
India
early 20th century
Inventory no.: 712
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Brass Door Handle & Rose
Southern India or Sri Lanka
20th century
Inventory no. 705
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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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Five Brass Jewellery Molds
India
19th-early 20th century
Inventory no.: 229
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Pair of Painted Teak Exercise Clubs (Mugdals)
India
19th century
Inventory no.: 834
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Ritual Brass Tripod Stand
Northern India or Nepal
19th century
Inventory no.: 808
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Tantric Ritual Tripod Stand
India
18th-19th century
Inventory no.: 831


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Pair of Princely Gold Thread Zardozi Court Shoes
Northern India
19th century
Inventory no.: 942
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Gold-Overlaid & Inscribed Iron Spear Butt
India (probably Rajasthan)
16th-17th century
Inventory no.: 873
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Nine Polychrome Wooden Sculptures of a Musical & Dance Troupe
South India
late 19th century
Inventory no.: 903
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Large Ganga-jumna Chambu Lota (Holy Water Container)
Benares, India
circa 1800
Inventory no.: 962
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Rosewood Money Counting Board for 500 Chukrams
Travancore, South India
19th century
Inventory no.: 1062
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Large Chinese-style English Porcelain Dish made for Indian Market
England
circa 1900
Inventory no.: 1009
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Indo-Portuguese Open-work Brass Casket with Silk-Velvet Lining
17th-18th century
Portuguese India
Inventory no.: 1084
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Conch-shaped Holy Water Libation Cup
Hindu India
18th-19th century
Inventory no.: 1115
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Brass Double-Faced Yali Finial or Games Piece
South India
19th century
Inventory no.: 1114
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Shaivite Ascetic’s Ritual Bangle
Maharashtra, India
circa 1800
Inventory no.: 1185
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Finely Cast Brass Indian Cow Foot Scrubber (Vajri)
South India
19th century
Inventory no.: 1228
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Engraved Ritual Conch or Trumpet Shell
India or Sri Lanka
19th century
Inventory no.: 1257
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Rare Pichangatti Knife & Scabbard with Fine Silver & Brass Mounts
Coorg, South India
18th-19th century
Inventory no.: 1239
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Copper Yantra of the Goddess Bhuvaneshvari
North India
17th-18th century
Inventory no.: 1258
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Brahmin Maratha Couple Carved in Horn
Bombay, India
circa 1820
Inventory no.: 1386
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Silver Gajredar Bracelet
Rajasthan, India
19th–early 20th century
Inventory no.: 1384
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Silver Braided Wire Belt (Karmapatti)
Maharashtra/Andhra Pradesh, India
late 19th century
Inventory no.: 1188
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Rare Beetlewing & Shell Ear Ornament
Naga Konyak People, Northeast India
circa 1920
Inventory no.: 1411
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Exceptional Bronze Hamsa Finial
South India
early 17th century
Inventory no.: 1406
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Exceptionally Rare Colonial Crocodile Ivory Snuff Container
in the form of a Mestizo Woman, with Silver Mounts
Portuguese Goa, India
late 17th century
Inventory no.: 1390
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Fine Brass Bhuta (Muga) Mask of Panjurli (the Tusked Boar)
South Karnataka, India
19th century
Inventory no.: 1420
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Inscribed Silver Pichkari for Holi
India
19th century
Inventory no.: 1437
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Carved Ivory Lion Throne Element
Orissa, India
15th-16th century
Inventory no.: 1459
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Indo-Portuguese Solid Ivory Our Lady of the Conception
Goa, India
17th-18th century
Inventory no.: 1444
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Ivory Fertility Pendant Carved with a Yakshini
India
Sunga (Shunga) Period, 200-100BC
Inventory no.: 1478
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Calcified Ivory Figure, Possibly Durga
India
Sunga (Shunga) Period, 200-100BC
Inventory no.: 1479
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Ivory Figure
India
Sunga (Shunga) Period, 200-100BC
Inventory no.: 1480
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Carved Ivory Image of Vishnu Bhogasthanakamurti
India
circa 1920
Inventory no.: 1504
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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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