Colonial Indian Silver Pedestal Vase & Cover

This splendid pedestal vase with a domed cover has a particularly pleasing and well-balanced form. It is beautifully chased all over with interlaced flower and leafy motifs in a pattern that seems inspired by Islamic and Mughal aesthetic. The vessel is thick-walled and so is surprisingly heavy in the hand.

The domed lid has a finial that seems based on a pine cone. There is a small vacant armorial cartouche on one side of the body of the vase.

This piece is illustrated and dated ‘circa 1880’ in Wilkinson (1999, p. 93). However, other examples of related colonial Indian silver suggest that this piece might be significantly earlier.

Ostensibly Kutch, the silverwork (and indeed the form of the vessel) quite possibly dates to earlier in the 19th century and might not necessarily be from Kutch. The work however is flatter and more open than later Kutch pieces, and has more in similar to several pieces that are datable to the early 19th century such as a past piece we have had dateable to before 1823, and another.

The vase is a fine sculptural work. It is highly decorative and in excellent condition.

Illustrated: This actual piece is illustrated in Wilkinson (1999, p. 93).