Spectacular Silver ‘Francolin’ Bird Tea Set by Oomersi Mawji

This iconic silver three-piece tea set is the work of Oomersi Mawji, the famed late 19th century Colonial Indian silversmith. Only a handful of such sets are known, most now are in museums.

Each piece – the the teapot, sugar bowl and milk jug – has been ingeniously shaped as a grey francolin (Francolinus francolinus) a bird that is similar to the European partridge but which is native to the more arid parts of the Indian sub-continent, and which today happens to be the state bird of northern Haryana state. Each piece has been realistically modelled, squawking and with claws holding down a small, curled snake. The snake in respect of the teapot rears over the bird, wrapping part of its body around the bird’s neck thereby forming the teapot’s handle. (This has two ivory insulators.)

The feathers on each are finely rendered. In respect of the sugar bowl, the bird’s back comprises a hinged lid to reveal the interior. The beaks of the birds that comprise the teapot and milk jug are hinged and open to provide access to the interiors.

The underside of the foot of the bird that comprises the teapot has been 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 that used by Oomersi Mawji himself, rather than his sons who took over the firm in later years (Wilkinson, 1999, p. 90).

Several OM tea sets shaped as francolin birds have come to light in recent years but mostly, these either are incomplete (a private museum in India for example has two of the three vessels only, and another example offered at Bonhams New York as lot 61 of its ‘Indian, Himalayan & Southeast Asian Art’ sale of March 18, 2013 had all three pieces but the head of the bird that comprises the milk jug was actually missing), or have been stamped with later stamps relating to when the OM firm was in the hands of his sons rather than the master silversmith himself (see for example, Dehejia, 2008, p. 92-93).

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.

The set is in very fine condition.

Note: this item contains antique ivory but which amounts to less than 10% by volume. It therefore has, as is required by UK law, a non-transferable, UK Ivory Act 2018 exemption permit, submission reference number: T5PAKB3F.