An important Indo-Portuguese embroidered coverlet, Bengal, India,

The field with a central shield shaped panel enclosing a depiction of the Judgement of Solomon, to the sides and above are four centaur–like figures playing instruments, beneath two horsemen armed with spears and their dogs bait a boar; side panels centred by confronting harpies flanked by scenes of the chase; an upper cross-band with a central semi-circle enclosing a bust of a figure, flanked by sun and moon motifs, three figures shelter behind a wall flanked by a horned figure, deer and a horse, quarter circle spandrels, the right hand with a version of the Judgement of Solomon motif, the left with an execution before a tent; a lower cross-band with an archer aiming at a hydra, the left hand spandrel with soldiers massed before a king, the right hand with figures in a tower displaying a head to ranks of soldiers; three borders: the inner border of maritime scenes, with an fleet of carrack (armed merchant ships) amongst fish, dolphins, fishermen holding their catch and fishing nets; the central border with goddess figures and double-headed eagles, punctuated by panels displaying e.g. an archer, a figure riding a dragon and another a dolphin, a huntsman, a pelican, and a figure tumbling from a tower; the outer border depicting the hunt, with horsemen, animals and birds, corner panels with lions.

The Portuguese having discovered the first sea route to India in 1498, were the earliest Europeans to establish a presence in India, first at Cochin in 1503 and then in Goa in 1510.  Goa became their most important entrepôt, acting as the assembly point for goods from all over India and from their other trade depots further east. In turn Lisbon became synonymous with the exotica of the east, fuelling the Renaissance taste for collecting the extraordinary and luxurious. Catherine of Austria (1507-78), who had married João III (r.1521-57), assembled the first important Kunstkammer in Portugal, using a network of agents and viceroys throughout the east to supply her with the rare and unusual.  She is recorded as receiving three Bengali quilts in 1558 (along with Indian rugs, jewels and lacquer). Prized too beyond the borders of Portugal, ‘a Bengalla quilt 3 ½ yards long and 3 yards broad … embroidered all over with pictures of men and crafts in yellow silk’ is recorded as being sold at auction in London in 1618, (see Crill, R. et al, Arts of India, V&A, 1990, p.47).

Bengal had long been a centre of high quality textiles, embroidered in the local wild (tussar) silk, but the enterprising Portuguese merchants clearly commissioned the decoration of these quilts specifically for the European market.  One such is the quilt bearing the arms of the Portuguese family Lima da Villa Norvada Cerveira, (see Crill, R. ibid., ill.33., p.48) which also has other motifs such as the double-headed eagle, symbol of the Habsburg empire and thus the crest of Portuguese Goa, together with a merchant fleet and musicians, and minor decorations reminiscent of European herbaria which are seen in several other examples and also appear in the lot offered here. A number of the motifs in these quilts were taken from material supplied by the Portuguese merchants, such as illustrated Bibles and European prints, which included images of classical myths and fables. The result was an extraordinary melting pot of influences, which were combined with illustrations of the daily life of the Portuguese in India, such as men hunting with spears in the Indian fashion, fishing and military activity, all of which are depicted in the present quilt. Some of the motifs were symbolic rather than literal, such as the dolphins, which were thought to bring good luck to sailors; others were religious illustrations, such as the Judgement of Solomon, which appears in the centre of the present lot. Intriguingly there is even a 16^th century quilt in the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon, Inv. 3413, see de Cagigal e Silva, M.M., A Arte Indo-Portuguesa, Lisbon, fig.43, p.75 which appears to combine decoration inspired by a Mamluk carpet with hunting scenes and Indian wildlife.

It is easy to imagine how these quilts would have fascinated their European recipients: the rich combination of cross-cultural temporal and spiritual sources, all filtered through the imagination of the Bengali embroiderers, create a picture-book of another world, where it seems almost possible that dragons and hydra do exist, and where sailors’ stories of mermaids and monsters are true.

One of the closest published examples is a quilt from the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon, Inv.3692, illustrated Cagigal, op.cit., fig. 60, p.109 and fig.61, p.112 (detail of border). Another similar also from the Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga, Lisbon, (Inv.1363) is illustrated in Goa and the Great Moghul, ed. Flores and Vassallo e Silva, Lisbon 2004, Cat.35 and p.63. Please also see Cagigal, ibid., figs.54-59 and 63-65, pp.94-119 for further discussion and illustration of related embroideries. For further discussion and sources regarding Indo-Portuguese trade, please see Crill, R., op.cit., pp.46-55 and Jackson, Anna & Jaffar, Amin, Encounters, The Meeting of Asia and Europe 1500-1800, V&A, London, 2004, pp.34-43.