posted 05-21-2008 09:26 AM            

Reflecting Power: Three Schools of Indian Silver
July 2-12, 2008
curated by: Wynyard R. T. Wilkinson, F.S.A. Scot.

Location: Indar Pasricha Fine Arts
22 Connaught Street
London, W2 2AF
Tel. 0207 724 9541

India’s long and tumultuous history is arguably nowhere better reflected than in silver objects produced to the order of those who once ruled the vast Sub-Continent. Beginning with items tailored to the luxuriant tastes of the Mughal Emperors who controlled India from the 16th through to the mid 19th centuries, curator Wynyard Wilkinson, a noted authority on Indian silver, then shifts the focus to pieces reflecting the Georgian restraint favoured by early European merchants and soldiers who arrived under the auspices of the East India Company. Finally is a group of objects produced during the influence of the British Raj, which reveals an emerging indigenous genre.

Wilkinson has selected objects that mirror the tastes of these three elites. The exhibition, a chronological progression of taste and styles in India spanning three centuries, will feature pieces designed for personal as well as official use and offers a glimpse into these three very diverse cultures.

In all its jewel-like magnificence, Mughal silver incorporates design and decorative elements that reveal the exotic amalgam that was Mughal culture. With roots reaching as far afield as the Mongolian Steppes and Persia, Mughal civilisation brought finesse to the decorative arts of India that remains in evidence to this day.

By the time the East India Company established itself in the Sub-Continent in the late 18th century, the sober discipline of Georgian taste was fashionable in Britain. It follows then that Georgian style silver was the order of the day for the numerous mercantile and military adventurers who populated the great Presidency towns. This body of work was produced by Indian craftsmen under the aegis of European firms like Hamilton & Co. in Calcutta, the Gordon family in Madras.

Finally are objects produced during the final period of British influence in India, which lasted from the mid-19th through to India’s independence in 1947. This period saw a concerted effort on behalf of the Raj to ensure that indigenous crafts in India were not lost to the rapid industrialisation that took place worldwide at that time. The result is hand-wrought silver that represents a true confluence of styles wherein European forms are enhanced by indigenous decorative motifs.

Lucknow Parcel-Gilt Tureen, circa 1775
An 18th century Mughal parcel gilt tureen made in Lucknow
Height: 23cm Diameter: 23cm
The chased and engraved tureen, features exquisitely rendered scrolling foliage interspersed with animals both wild and domestic.


Raj Silver Knife made in Trichinopoly with Garuda handle c.1880


Mughal silver Box, from a toilet set, Lucknow c.1730


Large cow for holding Holy Water, Cutch c.1880


Indian Colonial Silver goblet by John Martin, Calcutta c.1816