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A Fine & Rare Tea Set, Silver, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, Southern India, ca.1870.

REGISTERED ANTIQUITY – NON-EXPORTABLE ITEM.

 

Object Detail

 

This 19th-century Indian Colonial solid silver antique three-piece tea set consists of a teapot, sugar bowl, and a cream jug. Each object features a straight tapered body richly and exquisitely repoussé, adorned with religious processions of men transporting idols. The scene showcases typical moments from the Meenakshi Amman temple in southern India. The handles are designed as snake whisperers, and the finials illustrate Shiva on an elephant. The finest examples of Raj silver appear to have been created between 1860 and 1920. Many such pieces were ordered by the British officials stationed in India, from the catalogues of local firms like P. Orr and Sons (of Madras) or from workshop drawings such as those of Oomersee Mawjee of Kutch.

 

Indian silverwork depicting deities and religious ceremonies draws inspiration from the bas-reliefs found on notable temples in southern India. This style is known as “Swami silver”. The word ‘Swami’ is associated with Lord Vishnu in Southern India.

 

The design tradition is closely associated with Madras, where it was primarily produced by the distinguished firm P. Orr and Sons, the leading silversmith company in Colonial South India. Recognised as the largest and most well-equipped establishment of its kind in India during its era, P. Orr and Sons was founded in 1848 by Peter Orr, a watchmaker from Edinburgh, and was rebranded in 1863 under the name P. Orr and Sons. The firm received commissions from prominent figures such as Maharaja Khanderao Gaekwad of Baroda, Maharaja Tukoji Rao II Holkar, and Maharaja Raja Rama Varma of Cochin, who commissioned exceptional silver works, many of which were subsequently presented to the Prince of Wales during his tour in India in 1875-76. The company is particularly renowned for its creation of the ‘Swami silver’, which features representations of Hindu deities. P. Orr and Sons produced silver works in the Victorian style, several of which are now part of the permanent collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

 

Goddess Meenakshi, an incarnation of Parvati, also has an important role during the Chithirai festival at the Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai. The temple’s procession of the divine wedding of Meenakshi and Sundareshwarar, named as the ‘Ther Thiruvizha,’ is an important religious practice. In the course of this festival, the divine spouses are taken around in a beautiful chariot procession for the public to view. In the same manner, the tea set presents a beautiful procession where there are characters accompanying a Devi, who in this context is Parvati herself. Parvati appears as the primary deity who is surrounded by her attendants, who are seen in dynamic positions. In fact, the craftsmanship of the tea set takes elements from the carvings at the Meenakshi Amman Temple. The tea set’s artwork conveys the beauty and the religiosity of the temple’s iconography. This elaborate artwork not only conveys the beauty associated with the festival, for example, at the Meenakshi Amman Temple, but also imbues the tea set with meaning and significance to offer it the status of devotional art from the precursor object, which is an object used for the purpose of taking tea.

 

This tea service set is a remarkable testimony of the combination of form, function, and faith expressed in Indian colonial silverware, with depiction of chased and repousse figures of common man and deities, an elephant-shaped spot and finial, and an overall surface decoration testifying to great skill and symbolic meaning. More than its usefulness, it holds a visual conversation between East and West, sacred and profane, functional and decorative, an enduring expression of the cultural and artistic dynamism of 19th-century India.

 

Provenance

 

From a Private Collection in Mumbai, India.

 

Condition

 

In Good Condition.

 

Dimension

 

Teapot

Height – 18cm.

Width – 18 x 11 cm.

 

Sugar Bowl

Height – 9 cm.

Width – 11.5 x 9 cm.

 

Cream Jug

Height – 9 cm.

Width – 9.5 x 7.5 cm.

 

Literature Comparison

 

1. An Indian Colonial Silver Mustard Pot by Hugh Gordon, Madras, ca. 1795

https://www.wynyardwilkinson.co.uk/product/an-indian-colonial-silver-mustard-pot-by-hugh-gordon-madras-ca-1795/

 

2. Delight in Design: Indian Silver for the Raj,September 17–December 13, 2008, Columbia University.

https://www.columbia.edu/cu/wallach/exhibitions/Delight-in-Design.html

 

3.Antique Indian Silver Tea Set, Madras (chennai), India – Circa 1880,Item-140.

https://www.josephcohenantiques.com/products/antique-indian-silver-tea-set-madras-chennai-india-circa-1880#:~:text=Product%20Description,stone%20temple%20in%20southern%20India.&text=Sorry!,product%20has%20already%20been%20sold.

 

4.Madras Three Piece “Swami Ware” Tea Set, Attributed to P.Orr & Sons, c. 1880.

https://www.saffronart.com/fixedjewelry/PieceDetails.aspx?iid=35975&pt=2&eid=3576

 

 

 

 

 

 

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