Indian Silver Bowl signed by Oomersi Mawji

This pleasing eight-sided silver bowl is by the great Indian silversmith Oomersi Mawji.

The bowl sits on a low ring foot and is finely chased with eight panels of typically Kutch scrolling leaf and flower work. It flares outwards as it rises and each of the eight edges is slightly concave.

The base is stamped using a cameo punch with the letters ‘O.M’ for Oomersi Mawji and the town mark ‘Bhuj’. The style of the stamps used dates to the period 1860-1890 and was used by Oomersi Mawji himself rather than his sons who took over the firm in later years (Wilkinson, 1999, p. 90).

Oomersi Mawji was the pre-eminent Indian silversmith of his time. Together with his sons, he established a workshop in Kutch around 1860, where the local Muslim rulers who had the title ‘Maharao’ were an important source of patronage. Today, pieces by OM are keenly sought by collectors and museums worldwide.

Kutch silvermakers such as Mawji developed a unique style of motifs with which they decorated most of the silver items they produced. Islamic-inspired scrolling flowers and foliage is the most frequently encountered motif, but small animal, bird and human motifs also were employed. The inspiration for these intricate motifs combined with fine and complex floral and foliage patterns almost certainly derives form the local tradition of intricate wall painting employed in Kutch palaces and public buildings. Known as Kamaagar art, the style evolved among the Kamaagar community of Muslims who lived in Kamaagar Falia in Bhuj (Tyabji, 2006, p. 90). Initially, the community was known for making decorated shields, but by the early to mid 19th century, the Kamagaars had established themselves as wall painters, painting intricate, even fussy, scenes of village life, hunting scenes and the like accompanied by scrolling vegetal and floral borders. The bowl here draws on this aesthetic tradition.

The bowl is in fine condition.