An exceptional diamond-set and enamelled gold tray and casket (pandan), North India, 18th century

comprising a gold, eight-sided tray featuring a large, domed box fitted in the centre surrounded by eight small boxes, the surface covered with a bright green enamel ground and flat-cut diamonds set in the kundan technique designed as flowers and leafy buds

Habsburg Feldman auction, Geneva, 9 November 1987
By repute, the Nizam of Hyderabad

In overall good condition, principally flat-cut foil-backed diamonds, some with minor oxidisation to foil, very few minor dents and scratches to underside of boxes and tray consistent with age, in fitted presentation box, 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."

This extremely rare enamelled and bejewelled gold pandan box, set on a tray with eight smaller boxes, displays the wealth and taste of the Indian courts for the most lavish objects. These were used not only for personal ornamentation, but served an important diplomatic purpose, to impress and reinforce the power of their empire. This effect was best described in the seventeenth century by Sir Thomas Roe, then ambassador to the court at Agra, who exclaimed upon seeing the Emperor Jahangir on the occasion of his forty-seventh birthday: “In jewells hee is the treasury of the world” (Foster 1926, pp.378-9). This phrase subsequently gave its title to a publication on one of the most celebrated collections of Mughal jewelled art today, the al-Sabah collection in the Kuwait National Museum, which should be referred to for further examples of this type of craftsmanship and quality (see Keene 2001).

Furthermore, a list by William Hawkins on the quantity of diamonds in Jahangir’s treasury, amounts to the equivalent of 37.5 kilos, or 187,500 carats, conveying the particular desire for this specific gemstone (Krishnan and Kumar 1999, p.112).  
 
Covered with bright green enamel and set with diamonds in the kundan technique, the creator of the present box and tray has conceived a masterful combination of the highest order. The diamonds are carefully faceted to bring out the maximum brilliance of each stone and also hide any flaws that may be present. Whereas jewelled examples of this quality exist, it is rare to find this shape. An analogous example in silver and on a smaller scale from the Clive Collection is now in Powis Castle, also dated to the eighteenth century (illustrated in: London 1982, pp.112-113, no.331.)