Lot 358
  • 358

A carved buffalo and ivory powder horn, India, 17th/18th century

Estimate
8,000 - 12,000 GBP
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Description

  • Buffalo horn and ivory
the buffalo horn carved with concentric ridges and a stylised foliate stem along upper side with carved ivory mounts, featuring an elephant-head finial with intricately carved foliate settings and leafy eyelet for hanging, notably with two further ivory eyelets on centre of body to be used for hanging, the broad aperture with finely carved ivory cap featuring a gazelle on a stylised openwork vegetal ground

Condition

In good condition overall, some natural ware to buffalo horn and the mounts with some encrustations and some old repairs (notably - replacements to small sections of ivory on mounts), as viewed.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Catalogue Note

Powder-horns carved from buffalo horn are very rare, and notably one of this scale in which the buffalo horn was carved out into spirals, set with finely detailed ivory mounts. A similar example in the Jaipur Museum still features its original traces of polychromy and was described in "the Jeypore exhibition of 1883" as: "Of Indian carving, the powder flasks belonging to the Jeypore Court are by far the most interesting... In these there is no excess of ornament, and colour has been judiciously employed to contrast with the beautiful purity of the ivory" (Memorial of the Jeypore Exhibition 1883, volume 1, p.48).

Another comparable example is in the Clive Collection at Powis Castle, accompanied by an entry in the 1775 inventory indicating that it had once belonged to the Ist Lord Clive (Archer, Rowell, Skelton 1987, p.93, no.129). A third example is in the Tavora Sequeira Pinto Collection, Porto, attributed to Sri Lanka, sixteenth century (Gschwend and Beltz 2010, p.122, no.53).